The Ways of Overcoming the Impact of Graduation from School on the Mental State of Students and Their Parents: Counseling with a Social Worker to Solve Social and Psychological Problems

Abstract

The study identifies and measures the emotional aspects affecting students’ learning and motivation as well as their relationship with the social and psychological environment in their family. Solving emotional problems was also one of the goals. In total, 50 schoolchildren, 16 to 18 years of age, took part in the experiment. Their parents also participated in the study for family therapy sessions. The experiment was conducted at Ajman Private School, Ajman Emirate, Ajman, United Arab Emirates. Prior to the study, graduates took a series of questionnaires to measure their emotional state. During the experiment, respondents had conversations with a social worker and an art therapist once a week. During conversations, a social worker helped the students and their parents to understand the difficulties in their relationships and to come to compromises. In art therapy sessions, respondents expressed their negative emotions on the canvas using art materials. The study lasted four months. Also, at the middle and end of the experiment, respondents took a series of tests to measure their progress over time. The outcomes demonstrated not only the interrelation of family support and emotional state but also the effectiveness of the chosen methodology. The average score on the Beck Depression Inventory prior to the study was 6.8 out of 10 points. On the Taylor’s Manifest Anxiety Scale, the average score was 7.4 points. According to the WAM test, the ‘wellbeing’ factor before the beginning of the experiment was equal to 4.9 points.