EXPLORING THE ROLE OF VISUAL ART IN COPING WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i12s.2026.8348Keywords:
Psychological Stress, Undergraduate Students, Academic Pressure, Visual Arts, Coping Mechanism, Emotional Expression, Resilience, Mental HealthAbstract [English]
Psychological stress among undergraduate students is a growing global mental health concern that negatively affects emotional well-being, academic performance, and quality of life. Recently, visual arts have been recognized as a potential coping strategy that supports emotional expression, psychological relief, and resilience. The research design used was a qualitative phenomenological research design. The study was carried out in a higher education institute in Chennai, India. A purposive sampling method was employed to identify 15 undergraduate students who frequently used drawing, painting, sketching, and/or digital illustration as a coping strategy for stress. In-depth interviews were used as a qualitative data collection technique, and Colaizzi's phenomenological method was employed to analyse the data. The trustworthiness was assured by applying the criteria of Lincoln and Guba. Fifteen undergraduate students aged 18–24 years participated in the study. The participants were chosen based on their experiences of psychological stress and involvement in emotional coping through visual art practices. Data collection consisted of individual, in-depth interviews that were 40-60 minutes long. Interviews were recorded, with consent, with field notes taken to assist in capturing non-verbal communications as well as contextual information. Colaizzi's phenomenological analysis method was employed to identify significant statements, build meanings, cluster themes and create an exhaustive description of the phenomenon to uncover the essential structure of lived experience. The seven main themes are: (1) visual art as expression of feeling, (2) psychological relief through art, (3) creativity and self discovery, (4) emotional regulation through art, (5) resilience and hope through art, (6) social connectedness through art, and (7) visual art as mindfulness and healing. Participants valued visual art as a viable coping mechanism that helped them to express their emotions, gain insight into themselves, reduce stress and build psychological strength.
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