The effect of art therapy applied to mothers on children's eating behavior

Study is about the effect of art therapy applied to mothers of children attending kindergarten and pre-school institutions on the eating behavior of children. In order to determine the effect, pretest-posttest was carried out in an experimental design with a randomized control group. Research data were collected from mothers of children attending preschool and kindergarten in Bitlis Central District between April 2023 and July 2023. In the study, data form, Coping Styles Scale, Feeding Process Maternal Attitudes Scale, Women's Psychological Power Scale, Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire, Children's Brief Temperament Scale were applied, and mothers whose children had eating problems were identified with the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire. 16 experimental and 17 control groups were created among mothers whose children had eating problems, and art therapy applications ranging from 8 to 12 sessions were performed to the mothers in the experimental group. No action was taken on the mothers in the control group. At the end of the art therapy applications, a posttest was applied to the experimental and control groups. In the study, a significant difference was found in the first and second measurement values in the Expressing Emotions Sub-dimension of the Coping Styles Scale (BCSS-CF). In the control group, a significant difference was found in the first and second measurement values in the Instrumental Social Support Seeking and Acceptance subscale of the scale. In the Experimental Group, a significant difference was found in the first measurement and second measurement values in the Feeding Process Maternal Attitudes Scale (BSATÖ) Attitudes Towards Inadequate Unbalanced Nutrition, Negative Feeding Strategies sub-dimensions and the BSATÖ total. There was no significant difference in the second measurement values of the control group. There was no significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the Women's Psychological Power Scale (KPRS) and its subscales. A significant difference was found in the first and second measurement values in the Emotional Overeating and Emotional Undereating subscales of the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire (ÇYDA). There was no significant difference in the second measurement values of the control group. A significant difference was found in the second measurement value between the experimental and control groups in the Warmth-Shyness subscale of the Brief Temperament Scale. According to the study results; It was concluded that art therapy practices should be included to ensure physical and mental relaxation of mothers and long-term planning of art therapy practices should be ensured.