The Effects of Parent and Child Participation in Visual Art Activities on the Attachment and Wellbeing of Young Children: A Mixed Methods Systematic Review

The aim of this systematic review was to gather evidence concerning the psychological impact of parents and 0-5-year-old children participating in visual art activities together, in non-clinical settings. Four electronic databases were systematically searched (ASSIA, PsycARTICLES, Scopus, Web of Science), alongside a hand search of art sector literature, published between January 2010 and May 2021, in English. Qualitative and quantitative data were synthesized using the Joanna Briggs Institute Mixed Methods Convergent Integrated approach. Of 5822 studies screened, nine studies were selected based on the inclusion criteria. Overall quality was moderate, but in most cases the primary research aim was not psychologically focused. Nonetheless, taking part in dyadic (i.e., parent-child) visual art activities appeared to enable parents to increase their capacity for positive interactions in the short term, and improvements were found in the quality and frequency of dyadic interactions. Whilst participating in dyadic visual art activity, children demonstrated mental, social and emotional wellbeing. Increased wellbeing was not evident, however, as baseline measures were not recorded in the reviewed studies. If we are to better under the psychological impact of dyadic visual arts participation, there is a need for further research that isolates visual art participation from confounding factors (such as group participation or mixed artforms), and that utilises control groups and longitudinal measures. This is the first systematic review which has focused on the impact of visual art participation on the development of attachment relationships in children in non-clinical settings.