Hart, Indiana (2019) Comparing Alexithymia, Depression and Anxiety for Art Students and Other Students. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
The aim of the current study is to investigate whether differences exist between undergraduate art students and university students from other disciplines. In the present study it was investigated whether art students were significantly different from other students on levels of alexithymia, depression, and anxiety. Alexithymia is defined as the inability to identify and describe emotions. Depression and anxiety in this research, refer to participant reported levels of depression and anxiety based on scores on the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and do not represent a mental illness. Research has highlighted a significantly higher level of anxiety and depression in artists, when compared to the general population, so it is of interest to find out whether these differences are found in the student population. This study included a total of 160 university students aged over 18 that reside in Australia (28 art-students, 132 other students). Participants completed an online survey with demographic questions, and questions from the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Results indicate that art students are more alexithymic and have higher levels of depression when compared to other students, however, do not differ on reported levels of anxiety. Whilst art students and other students reported levels of anxiety that were not significantly different, it should be noted that both groups fell within the severe anxiety range. The findings of the present study highlight the difficulties in emotional processing that art students are reporting compared to other students. More research is needed to understand the underlying reasoning for the reported differences between the two groups. This research also highlights that art students may benefit from some form of emotion regulation training. This should be considered by the universities that offer art majors, art academics and conservatories.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Zahra Izadikhah |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Sep 2025 04:52 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Sep 2025 04:52 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Art students; alexithymia; emotion regulation; depression; anxiety; Australian undergraduate university students |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52393 |
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