Effects of drama training on socio-psycho-behavioral well-being of disabled: A pilot study

Abstract

Introduction: Due to physical or cognitive barriers, people with disabilities (PWD) often feel inferior. Such experience not only affects their interpersonal relationships, but also makes them difficult to integrate into society. Drama training can provide an interactive platform for people to learn how to deal with difficulties through mutual communication so as to enhance self-confidence and self-esteem. A drama training programme was provided to facilitate the psychosocial development among PWD. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the programme in improving self-esteem, coping strategies and personal well-being of PWD. Research Design: The mixed-method study recruited 29 PWD from two rehabilitation centres in Hong Kong. Participants were assigned to intervention (n=15) and control group (n=14) after matching on demographics (e.g., IQ level, age, gender and types of disabilities). The intervention group received drama training on a weekly basis, 3 hours per session, for 1.5 years. Participants’ coping strategies, self-esteem and personal well-being were assessed before and after the intervention. Repeated-measures ANOVA were conducted to examine the changes of the outcome variables. Individual interviews were also held with each PWD from the intervention group and drama director; while 2 separate focus group interviews were conducted to mentors of the drama training and caseworkers of the rehabilitation centres respectively. Thematic analysis was performed to analyse the interview data. Results: After the drama training programme, the intervention group displayed a significant decrease in the coping strategies of “self-blame”, F(1, 27) = 4.88, p < .05, partial η2 = .15; and a marginal significant decrease in “denial”, F(1, 27) = 3.95, p = .06. Their sense of future security and self-esteem were improved by 51.85% and 5.46% respectively although statistical significance was not reached. The interview findings also reflected that participants’ self-confidence, problemsolving skills, emotional well-being, social skills and expressivity were improved. Conclusions: Despite the small sample size, the findings suggest beneficial effects of the drama training program in improving the self-esteem, coping strategies and personal well-being of the PWD. Through re-enacting the difficult moments in daily life, the participants were able to develop adaptive coping behaviors, thereby enhancing their confidence and psychosocial well-being.