This pilot study aims at investigating short-term effects of clown visits by RED NOSES Clowndoctors Austria in children and adolescents in psychiatric care without control group. It is assumed that children and adolescents involved in an interaction with the clowns will experience a shift in their focus. Individual attention and distraction from painful emotions have the ability to redirect their attention to the current pleasurable moment and increase their level of energy. Scientific evidence has shown that the distraction and switch to positive emotions associated with healthcare clowning can decrease the level of stress and pain (Vagnoli et al., 2005; Dionigi et al., 2014). The study examines subjective and physiological stress levels of participants receiving clown visits in a group setting on a weekly basis. Using a non-controlled pre-/post-test design, the level of salivary cortisol and self-reported stress and mood will be measured before and after each clown visit over four consecutive weeks. Additionally, effects on care staff at the health facilities will be assessed based on a questionnaire after each clown visit within the same time period of four weeks. The sample will consist of approximately 40 children and adolescents in inpatient or outpatient psychiatric care. The examined intervention, i.e. clown visits by RED NOSES Clowndoctors Austria, is an integral part within the selected psychiatric health care institutions. The study hypotheses are: 1. Children and adolescents will report a reduced subjective stress level and better mood states in the three assessed dimensions (good - bad mood; alertness - tiredness; calmness - restlessness) after the experience of a clown visit (post-test) compared to before the clown visit (pre-test) independent of age and gender. 2. Children and adolescents will display a reduced cortisol level after the experience of a clown visit (post-test) compared to before the clown visit (pre-test) independent of age and gender. 3. The more frequently children and adolescents experience the weekly clown visits over the course of the four-week study, the stronger the stress-reducing and mood-enhancing effects in the pre-/post-comparison will be over time. 4. Self-reported perceptions of care staff at the health facilities will indicate a positive effect of the clown visits on their own individual moods, the atmosphere within the care team, and the patients' well-being.
Age range
7 Years – 18 Years
Sex
ALL
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Subjective Stress
Timeframe: Pre-Post-Change: Change from before to immediately after intervention for four times (over four weeks)
Subjective Mood
Timeframe: Pre-Post-Change: Change from before to immediately after intervention for four times (over four weeks)
Physiological Stress: Salivary Cortisol
Timeframe: Pre-Post-Change: Change from before to immediately after intervention for four times (over four weeks)
Evaluation of Care Staff
Timeframe: Post-assessment: after each of the four interventions