Being Present With Art: The Impact of Mindful Engagement With Art on Awareness and Connection

A primary objective of this study is to determine whether mindful engagement with art reduces student stress levels. This will be measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (min = 0; max = 4) which consists of 10 scale items. The higher the score, the more likely participants are stressed. Participants who received the intervention in Session One will be compared to the control (Session Two).

A primary objective of this study is to determine whether mindful engagement with art increases mindful awareness in students. This will be measured by the Mindful Awareness Scale (min = 1; max = 6) which includes 15 questions. The higher the score, the more mindful participants are. Participants who received the intervention in Session One will be compared to the control (Session Two).

A primary objective of this study is to determine whether mindful engagement with art increases feelings of connectedness in students. This will be measured by a scale created by the investigators to ask participants how connected they feel to the Yale community (min = 1; max = 5). This scale involves one question. The higher the score, the more connected participants feel to the Yale community. Participants who received the intervention in Session One will be compared to the control (Session Two).

A secondary objective of this study is to determine whether the Being Present with Art intervention resulted in a longitudinal decrease in stress for Session One participants. This outcome is measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (min = 0; max = 4) which consists of 10 scale items. The higher the score, the more stressed participants are.

A secondary objective of this study is to determine whether the Being Present with Art intervention resulted in a longitudinal increase in mindfulness for Session One participants. This outcome is measured by the Mindful Awareness Scale (min = 1; max = 6) which consists of 15 scale items. The higher the score, the more mindful participants are.

A secondary objective of this study is to determine whether the Being Present with Art intervention resulted in a longitudinal increase in connectedness for Session One participants. This outcome is measured by connectedness scale we created for the purpose of this study (min = 1; max = 5) which consists of one question. Higher scores indicate increased participant feelings of connectedness to the Yale community.

Session One and Session Two participants each attended 4 consecutive weeks of the Being Present with Art programming. The investigators wanted to know whether stress measures before vs. after any one of these four sessions resulted in decreased stress for both Session One and Session Two participants. This was measured by asking students one question about how stressed they currently felt (min = 0; max = 4). Higher scores indicate increased participant stress.

Session One and Session Two participants each attended 4 consecutive weeks of the Being Present with Art programming. The investigators wanted to know whether mindfulness measures before vs. after any one of these four sessions resulted in increased mindfulness for both Session One and Session Two participants. This was measured by asking students one question about how aware of the present moment they currently felt (min = 0; max = 4). Higher scores indicate increased mindful awareness.

Session One and Session Two participants each attended 4 consecutive weeks of the Being Present with Art programming. The investigators wanted to know whether connectedness measures before vs. after any one of these four sessions resulted in increased connectedness for both Session One and Session Two participants. This was measured by asking students one question about how connected to the Yale community they currently felt (min = 0; max = 4). Higher scores indicate increased feelings of connectedness.