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Arts & Communication Art images and trauma in femicide orphans

is known about interventions for orphans of femicide. (ii) Find a quiet and comfortable location to focus your
Therefore, the present study aims to experimentally attention;
investigate whether the use of art images (relative to the (iii) Spend some time simply observing the object or image
“Trauma” and “Resources” categories) affects traumatic without forming judgments or interpretations;
symptomatology and the levels of psychological well-being (iv) Begin examining the details of the object or image,
among adult orphans of feminicide. with a keen focus on attributes such as shape, color,
This study hypothesized that the use of art images texture, and other characteristics;
contributes to the following: (v) Consider the relationship between the different parts
(i) A reduction in the impact of traumatic events; of the object or image and their contribution to overall
(ii) A decrease in the frequency and severity of traumatic meaning or significance;
symptoms; (vi) Reflect on your observations and consider any new
(iii) An elevation in levels of psychological well-being. insights or perspectives stemming from the exercise.
The same questionnaire used for the baseline
2. Methods measurement was administered again during both T1 and

2.1. Participants T2 assessments.
The study included 84 adult orphans of femicide, with a The experimental procedure used in this study was
[35]
mean age of 36 years (SD = 3.72), consisting of 66 women previously employed in an exploratory study , which
and 18 men. Among the participants, 75.4% reported being aimed to investigate the associations between the use of art
unmarried, while 24.6% were married and/or cohabiting. images (specifically the “Food” category), self-monitoring,
Geographically, the majority of the participants resided and psychological well-being in young Italian women.
in Central Italy (79.8%), 12.2% in Southern Italy and the In the present study, the experimental procedure was
islands, and 8% in Northern Italy. In terms of educational conducted online through the Zoom platform. Data
background, 79.6% of participants had completed high collection took place in 2022, involving participants
school, 12.2% had earned a bachelor’s degree, 6.1% had who were orphans of feminicide and recruited through
a master’s degree, and 2.1% had finished junior high associations dealing with orphans of femicide. The
school. Regarding employment status, the majority of inclusion criterion was reaching the legal age of adulthood
the participants (89.6%) were employed, while 10.4% and being an orphan due to feminicide. No incentives were
identified as students. provided for participation, which remained voluntary
2.2. Research design and procedure and anonymous. All procedures adhered to privacy laws
and participation required informed consent from the
A randomized and controlled group design was adopted, participants. The informed consent included detailed
comprising both an experimental group and a control information about the study procedure, the right to decline
group (which did not receive any experimental stimulus). participation, details about data processing, and the
The design included a pre-test (T ) with two post-test research’s objectives and nature. Participants were made
0
measurements, 1 week (T ) and 2 weeks after the end of aware of their right to withdraw from the study at any point
1
the intervention (T ). Participants were randomly assigned without needing to provide any explanation and without
2
to either the experimental or control conditions, resulting any negative consequences. The individual administration
in 42 participants in each group. of the study took about 10 min. On completion, participants
For the experimental group, before exposure to were given the opportunity to ask the researcher for further
the experimental stimulus, participants completed a clarifications about the research’s objectives or any doubts.
questionnaire aimed at detecting the variables of interest
(baseline measure). The experimental stimulus involved 2.3. Questionnaire’s measures
presenting a series of art images related to the “Trauma” 2.3.1. Art images (experimental stimulus)
and “Resources” categories for 1 min. Following this,
participants were instructed to explain what they had seen Two image categories, “Trauma” and “Resources,” sourced
[18]
in the chosen image. The methodology followed the steps from the Collection of Art Images , were adopted.
outlined by the “slow looking” method, which entails a The “Trauma” category comprises the following
meticulous observation and analysis of an object or image. art images, which were presented to the participants:
The sequential steps encompassed: Böcklin (1874), Das Hünengrab; Schiele (1917), Porträt
(i) Choose an object or image for observation and Leutnant Heinrich Wagner; Schiele (1911), Tote Stadt III.
analysis; Stadt am blauen Fluss III; Schiele (1911), Akt mit roten

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2023) 6 https://doi.org/10.36922/ac.0337