Date of Award
5-2025
Access Restriction
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Marital and Family Therapy
School or College
College of Communication and Fine Arts
First Advisor
Louvenia Jackson, Ph.D LMFT, ATR-BC
Abstract
This study explores the concepts of empathy and belonging through the collaborative creative arts process among high school-aged girls at an all-girls Catholic school in Los Angeles County, California. Employing a Participatory Action Research (PAR) framework, researchers and participants collaborated as co-researchers, founded on the principles of cross-cultural art therapy and in the hope of fostering youth advocacy. In partnership with the school community and institution, as well as supported by an Anti-Hate grant from The Jenesse Center, this study examines the intersectional identities of participants and how empathy and belonging can be affected through the art-making process. The project utilizes techniques of quilt-making, a historically rich and culturally meaningful art form, to facilitate communal expression and connection. The findings indicate that collaborative artmaking serves as an effective modality for fostering mutual recognition, social-emotional facilitation, and identity development. The study aims to fill a gap in the literature on PAR with the use of art therapy within the adolescent population’s examination of empathy, belongingness, and identity. The research found that when participants felt like others truly saw and understood them for who they are, it helped them feel more empathy towards others and a stronger sense of belonging within their community. The art activity and the facilitation by the researchers gave participants a chance to share various parts of their identity and feel recognized for their uniqueness. The collaborative quilt-making project and facilitation by art therapy researchers assisted participants with feeling connected with peers and an increased sense of belonging from their already existing community ties and empathy for one another.
Recommended Citation
Boyer, Vivian; Brooks, Kam; Camp, Emily; checkwicz-grosberg, hannah; Newman, Jenna; O’Connor, Renee; and Tardie, Jacqueline, "Adolescent Identity and Belongingness: Using Arts-Based Participatory Action Research" (2025). LMU Theses and Dissertations. 1344.
https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd/1344
