daisy tan_thesis

Running head: ART THERAPY REDUCES REVERSE-‐MIGRATION EFFECTS CHILDREN 1

Art Therapy Reduces Reverse-Migration Separation Effects on “Satellite Babies”

Daisy Tan

Long Island University, Post Campus

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for

Masters of Arts in Clinical Art Therapy and Counseling

May, 2015

_____________________________ ____________________________________ Daisy Tan Christine Kerr, PhD, ATR-BC, LCAT

ART THERAPY REDUCES REVERSE-‐MIGRATION EFFECTS CHILDREN 2

Abstract

This research examines the benefits of art therapy interventions in reducing the negative

effects of reverse-migration in children known as “satellite babies”. Satellite babies can be

defined as children who were born in the U.S. and were sent to China to reside with extended

family members during early childhood. According to Bohr and Tse (2009) and Kwong et al.

(2009), studies denote a behavioral change when satellite babies return to the U.S. at school age.

These behavioral changes are based on the children’s separation issues and not meeting

milestones within attachment theory. Often these children displayed behaviors such as anger and

acting out.

In a single case study methodology, I discuss the role of art therapy as tool to deal with a

child who has recently returned back to the U.S. from China. This work was conducted with this

child at the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) COMPASS program at P.S.20, Queens,

NY. By reviewing attachment theory and noting the cultural determinants unique to these

satellite babies, I explore art therapy protocols that may be useful in remediating the negative

impact of assimilation back into the U.S.

Keywords: reverse-migration, separation, satellite babies, behavior, art therapy,

attachment theory


Table of Contents

Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Chapter I: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Chapter II: Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Satellite Babies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Definition of satellite babies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Chinese parenting style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Acculturation to the U.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Parenting problems of satellite babies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Cross cultural studies of early child separation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Attachment Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Definition and important concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Relationship of attachment theory to satellite babies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Trauma of separation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Art Therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Art therapy and attachment issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Bird’s nest drawing (BND) and attachment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

BND checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Kaiser’s study (1996) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Francis, Kaiser, and Deaver’s study (2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Sheller’s study (2007) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Chapter III: Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Research design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25


Qualitative research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Case study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Single case study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Validity and reliability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Participant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Participant selection procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Child’s psychosocial description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Art Therapy Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Benefits and limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Chapter IV: Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

First session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Outcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Second session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Discussion and outcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Third session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Outcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Fourth session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41


Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Outcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Fifth session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Discussion and outcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Chapter V: Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Suggestions of future research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Appendix A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Appendix B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Appendix C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Appendix D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60


Table of Figures

Figure 1: Bird’s Nest Drawing (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Figure 2: Bird’s Nest Drawing (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Figure 3: Bird’s Nest Sculpture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Figure 4: Bird’s Nest Sculpture (unpainted) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Figure 5: Bird’s Nest Sculpture (painted) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48


Chapter I

Introduction

This research examines the reverse-migration separation effects of the phenomenon of

“satellite babies” and how art therapy is used as an intervention to reduce these negative effects.

I was interested in studying this phenomenon based on my observations of children who had

recently arrived from China. These children called “satellite babies” demonstrated aggressive

behaviors such as low frustration tolerance in the school where I am employed, the Chinese-

American Planning Council COMPASS program (CPC COMPASS) in Queens, NY. Chang

(2009) and Kapoor (2011) recognized that these satellite babies often develop chronic

psychological problems, especially when trying to adjust to life in America or Canada after being

sent to China during their early infancy. These children often refused to recognize their parents

and often voiced a desire to leave the West to return to China to be with the extended family who

had taken care of them in their early childhood (Chang, 2009). As a result, satellite babies may

demonstrate feelings of anger and may do self-harm acts including hitting their heads against the

wall (Chang, 2009).

Understandably, the parents of these children have expressed frustration about their

children’s behavior. These parents of satellite babies denoted difficulties in disciplining their

children. Also, the parents were routinely concerned with improving their child’s academics as

well as their English language fluency (L. Lee, personal communication, 2013; Kwong, 2014).

Kwong (2014) believes that this particular type of parents is easily overwhelmed by new

childcare responsibilities. This factor often results in the parents becoming easily overwhelmed

by losing their temper. Consequently, the parents, school directors, and teachers are now looking


for interventions that may benefit these children to better adjust to the American culture (L. Lee,

personal communication, 2013).

Many in Chinese-American and Chinese-Canadian communities have observed this

specific acculturation issue. Although there is not a great deal of research that has been done on

this transnational phase, there are several studies that do show this is a real occurrence and a

significant problem (Bohr & Tse, 2009; Kwong, Chung, Sun, Chou, & Shih, 2009; Kwong,

2014). The research includes the parents’ reasons for separation, the risks that were taken, the

resulting behaviors and emotional issues for both the children and parents when the children

returned to the U.S. Anecdotal reports also confirm this phenomenon (Chang, 2009; Kapoor,

2011).


Chapter II

Literature Review

“Satellite babies”

Definition of satellite babies

Although the practice of sending infants back to China to be raised by their extended

families has been going on for some time, it is only recently that it has been recognized in the

U.S. and Canada as the possible cause of significant behavior and emotional problems in the

children when they return to the U.S. (Chang, 2009; Kapoor, 2011; Kwong, 2014). These

children, who are sent back to China, are called “satellite babies” and this separation is referred

as reverse-migration separation (Bohr & Tse, 2009; Kwong, Chung, Sun, Chou, & Shih, 2009;

Kwong, 2014). After a few years of living in China, the children return to the United States and

are reunited with their parents.

The parents’ intentions to send their children back to China are based on financial

concerns, lack of availability of affordable childcare in the West, and to be able to preserve their

old (original) culture (Bohr & Tse, 2009; Kwong, Chung, Sun, Chou, & Shih, 2009; Kapoor,

2011). The rationale for this reverse-migration is that more than half of the Chinese parents in a

study reported the need to return to work, thus sending their children to be taken care of by their

extended family in China (Kwong et al., 2009; Kwong, 2014). It has been found that fifty-seven

percent of a study sample of 219 mothers intended to send their children back to China (Kwong

et al., 2009; Kwong, 2014). This percentage is significantly high within this sample even though

these parents recognized the consequences of sending their children back to China. For instance,

they understood that the children could be less obedient when the children reunite with them in

the U.S. and that they might receive lower quality healthcare and education in China (Kwong, et


al., 2009). Additionally, these parents in the study acknowledged that the separation could cause

some damage to their relationship with their children in that the children might perceive the

parents as strangers (Bohr & Tse, 2009; Gindling & Poggio, 2012; Kwong, 2014). More than

half of the parents claimed that they would keep their children with them in the U.S. if affordable

and reliable childcare were available (Kwong, 2014). However, the parents would rationalize

sending their children back to China if they returned to the U.S. before they were six years old

(Bohr & Tse, 2009). It appeared to be a current common practice as one participant from

Kwong’s (2014) study states, “. . . it’s common that nobody wonders about it anymore.

[American-born] babies are all over the place [in China]” (p. 11).

The many themes of sorrow, hardship, guilt, attachment, and lack of control appeared to

be primary concerns behind these parents’ decisions when weighing the pros and cons about

separating from their infants (Bohr & Tse, 2009). Although the parents queried that they missed

their children, they also stated that they lacked options during their separation from their children

(Kwong, 2014). Importantly, these parents in this study understood that once the children were

reunited with the parents, there could potentially be parenting problems (Fung & Lau, 2010).

Chinese parenting style

Traditional Chinese family system was guided by the Confucian philosophy and ethics.

The Confucian philosophy helped define the family roles and relationships as well as

maintaining harmony within the Chinese family (Ho, 1987; Lee, 1997). Keyes (1977) stated that

according to the Confucian system, there were five basic relationships in society that demand

loyalty and respect: ruler and subjects, father and son, husband and wife, elder and younger

siblings, and friends (Ho, 1987). Filial piety is a concept of Confucian philosophy in which

children must have respectful love of parents and this is greatly emphasized. Therefore, parents


are the children’s greatest obligation since parents were the beings who brought them into

society and took care of them as well. No matter what parents may do, it is believed that the

children should still respect and obey them (Ho, 1987; Lee, 1997).

Chinese parents discipline their children through shaming. The concept of shaming

reinforces familial expectations and proper behavior within the family and in society. It is

believed that if a family member behaves inappropriately, he or she may cause him or herself in

addition to the family to “lose face” (Ho, 1987). Thus, the family would withdraw confidence

and support from the family member. He or she may have anxiety over the idea of facing life

alone. Fear of losing face then becomes a motivating force to fulfilling the family’s expectations

(Ho, 1987). Parents do not openly show love and affection to their children.

Acculturation to the U.S. Ho (1987) and Lee (1997) suggested that economic and

political difficulties that the Chinese undergo were heavily influenced by the U.S. immigration

policies, which changed the Chinese family structure. There are five major factors that contribute

to the difficulties of transitioning into the U.S. These factors are economy, American racism, loss

of extended family and support system, vast cultural conflicts, and reaction to a new environment

(Ho, 1987). Hence, the parents feel the need to obtain jobs immediately after their arrival in the

U.S. These jobs usually require a six-day work schedule working 10-12 hours per day in order to

provide basic necessities for their offspring (i.e. shelter, food and clothing) (Ho, 1987). This

transition into the Western society increases the demands of the children. These demands include

doing well in an English-speaking school, even though they are not able to speak it in the

beginning (Ho, 1987). This transition also highly influences the children feeling lonely and upset

about the absence of their extended family (Ho, 1987).


Parenting problems of satellite babies. Child discipline carried out by the extended

family members in China often results with the biological parents ineffectiveness after the

satellite baby returns home (Kwong, 2014). Therefore, when the children returned to the U.S.,

the parents most likely used verbal and physical punitive behavior on their children. As a result,

most children internalized their problems (Fung & Lau, 2010). One parent has reported verbally

threatening her daughter when the daughter did not listen to her:

“. . . Thereafter, I spoke with my daughter, “See, you brought the policemen here to take

you away. They did this because you didn’t listen to me. If you continue doing so, they

are going to take you away and we will lose a child. We only have your sister. Should

you be happy or should we be happy? I told you not to say it but you did” . . . After this. I

think that separation and reunification had affected our family” (Kwong, 2014, p. 25).

This was part of the parents’ difficulty in disciplining their children when they returned, since the

extended family in China had a tendency to spoil the children (Kwong, 2014).

Cross cultural studies of early child separation

There have been studies (Rousseau, Mekki-Berrada, & Moreau, 2001) from other

cultures, which showed some similar negative effects on “satellite babies” with prolonged

separation. The outcome of these studies denote themes of worry as well as fear of abandonment

for the child when families discussed leaving the children behind in both Latin American and

African families (Rousseau et al., 2001). Similar to the Chinese satellite babies, the length of

separation that the Latin American and African families experienced was an average of about

three years (Rousseau et al., 2001).

It appears that early childhood separation experience from parents is related to a higher

risk for later negative behavior of children. Consistent with the Canadian and American studies,


researchers found that many children had been separated from one or both parents with an

approximate average of three years (Suarez-Orozco et al., 2002). These children were from

Central America, China, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Mexico. Researchers also found that

there was a relationship between the length of separation and levels of reported depressive

symptoms. Similar to the satellite babies’ reverse-migration experience, children from Central

America and Mexico experienced separation from their parents as they remained in the care of

their relatives while their parents migrated to the U.S. (Gindling & Poggio, 2012). Researchers

found that there were negative consequences on the children’s educational achievement when

children were separated from their parents during migration and when they arrived to the U.S. to

start school (Gindling & Poggio, 2012). Gindling and Poggio (2012) suggested that separation

during migration was a risk factor for an education gap and dropping out of school. Additionally,

teachers reported that children who were separated from parents during migration might be less

successful academically. This is because of the negative psychological effects and the stigma of

being assigned to a lower grade when they first arrive to the U.S. due to lack of English fluency.

These study findings are consistent with the difficulties that the satellite babies endure.

Lastly, in Finland, researchers (Maki et al., 2003) found that temporary separation at birth

was associated with later criminal behavior in both male and female children (Maki et al., 2003).

In Maki et al.’s study (2003), a temporary separation from the family that a child goes through

was due to preventing the children from being exposed to tuberculosis. In terms of gender, males

were found to be at higher risk of committing violent crimes and repeating the same undesirable

behaviors (Maki et al. 2003). These studies illustrated the consequences resulting from the

separation experience due to migration (Rousseau et al., 2001; Suarez-Orozco et al., 2002; Maki


et al., 2003), especially they described the reverse-migration that the satellite babies endured as

infants.

Attachment Theory

Ainsworth and Bowlby (1991) perceived attachment theory as a universally accepted

framework that emphasizes the necessity for infants to experience consistent comfort and

security from the primary caregiver for their biological and psychological needs (as cited in

Bohr, 2010). Bohr (2010) believed that “the level of predictability and sensitivity of the care in

turn determines the security, or quality, of the parent-child attachment relationship” (p. 191).

Therefore, researchers predicted that the serial separations experienced by the infant from the

parents as well as the distant relatives, would be disruptive to the child’s social-emotional

development (Cassidy, 2008; Karen, 1994; Kobak & Madsen, 2008; as cited in Bohr, 2010). It is

important to consider attachment theory in regards to discussing the reverse-migration

separation. However, it should be seen from a cultural perspective due to the cultural influences

on the parents’ decisions to separate from their children (Bornstein & Cheah, 2006; Fitzgerald,

2006; Tamminen, 2006; as cited in Bohr, 2010).

Definition and important concepts

According to Levy and Orlans (1998), attachment between an infant and a caregiver is

rooted in biology and evolution. In other words, as Bowlby (1969) stated, certain instinctive

behaviors (i.e. complex language, mating, childrearing, and attachment between the young and

caregivers) are part of the requirements for the offspring and the species’ survival. Therefore, it

can be argued that humans are “genetically programmed” (Levy & Orlans, 1998) to attach to a

primary caretaker(s). Attachment behavior is any kind of behavior that the infant engages in to

obtain or maintain closeness to an individual (Bowlby, 1988). Attachment is when the infant


most likely will seek comfort, closeness, and nurture with someone (Bowlby, 1988).

Furthermore, Bowlby (1988) suggested that the theory of attachment was his attempt to explain

both attachment behavior with periodic appearance and disappearance, and the lasting

attachments that children build with other individuals.

If children are unable to display appropriate attachment behavior to various individuals

(i.e. mother, strangers, siblings) as well as not having a few enduring attachments, Bowlby

(1988) suggested that they may be highly disturbed. For instance, children who act friendly and

show affection to strangers instead of their mothers, they are considered highly disturbed.

Children with disrupted attachment are at high risk of developing the following types of

attachment disorders: reactive attachment disorder and disinhibited social engagement disorder

(American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

Reactive Attachment Disorder is categorized as a trauma-and stressor-related disorder in

which psychological distress is followed by exposure to a traumatic and stressful event as

described in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual 5th edition (American Psychiatric Association,

2013). Children with reactive attachment disorder develop a pattern of disturbed and

inappropriate attachment behaviors. They rarely seek an attachment figure for comfort, support,

protection, and nurturance. This disorder may occur simultaneously with developmental delays

in cognition and language. The diagnostic criteria for reactive attachment disorder consists of:

(1) pattern of inhibited and emotionally withdrawn behavior (i.e. rarely seeks comfort and

minimally responds to comfort when distressed) toward adult caregivers; (2) persistent social and

emotional disturbance characterized by minimal social and emotional responsiveness to others,

limited positive affect, and/or episodes of unexplained irritability, sadness, or fear that are

evident especially during nonthreatening interactions with adult caregivers; and (3) child has


experienced a pattern of insufficient care as evidenced by social neglect or deprivation in the

form of lacking basic emotional needs for comfort, stimulation and affection from caregiving

adults, repeated changes of primary caregivers that limit opportunities to form stable attachments

(e.g. frequent changes in foster care), or rearing in unusual settings that severely limit

opportunities to create selective attachments (e.g. institutions with high child-to-caregiver ratios)

(American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder is characterized by a pattern of “culturally

inappropriate and overly familiar behavior with relative strangers” (American Psychiatric

Association, 2013). The diagnostic criteria for disinhibited social engagement disorder includes:

(1) child actively approaches and interacts with strangers and shows at least two of the following

behaviors: (a) lack of shyness in approaching and interacting with unfamiliar adults, (b) intimate

verbal or physical behavior (that is not consistent with culturally and age-appropriate social

boundaries), (c) does not check back with adult caregiver after venturing away, including

unfamiliar settings, (d) willingness to go away with an unfamiliar adult with little or no

hesitation; (2) child has experienced a pattern of neglect as shown by at least one of the

following: (a) social neglect or deprivation in the form of persistent lack of having basic

emotional needs for comfort, stimulation, and affection usually given by caregiving adults, (b)

repeated changes of primary caregivers that limit opportunities to form stable attachments, and

(c) rearing in unusual environment that might severely limit opportunities to form selective

attachments (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

Relationship of attachment theory to satellite babies

Satellite babies have a high risk of developing these attachment disorders as both may

occur starting at nine months old. The process of migrating from the U.S. to China without the


presence of their birth parents and then returning back to the U.S. to be reunited with them, could

highly create disrupted and disturbed attachments between the satellite babies and their parents.

Kwong (2014) mentioned that one parent reported as the following:

“I realized every child who was sent back to be raised are totally different than those who

are raised here. My son did not have any family attachment to me when he first came

back. He was not familiar with me. He did not want to be close to me or have any

intimacy such as hugging and kissing. He felt strange in a new environment. . . Perhaps,

he felt strange when he first reunited with me. He was not connected with me or wanted

to be close to me. I guess he was not happy” (p. 22).

According to Bowlby (1988), if children feel abandoned and rejected by their parents, it

will be difficult for them to form a close relationship; thus, these parent-child relationships were

difficult to establish when the satellite babies returned and were reunited with their parents

(Kwong, 2014). The child-parent relationship was described as being strange and distant

(Kwong, 2014). This separation created anger and intensified anxiety within the children towards

their parents. In addition, the children were reported as frequently being very rebellious,

frustrated, and irritable. Kwong (2014) also reported that the satellite children experienced

separation anxiety, speech delays, and lacked fluency in English in school. Their anger,

frustration, chronic anxiety, and irritability were expressed as noisy and naughty behavior

including self-control issues and lying (Kwong, 2014).

These emotional and behavioral problems are consistent with research with children from

Central America and Mexico who came to the US to be reunited with their parents after a period

of separation (Gindling & Poggio, 2012). These researchers concluded that if the children didn’t

change their behavior and learn to cope with their negative emotions, their educational success


would be negatively affected and they would have difficulty forming attachments or bonds

(Gindling & Poggio, 2012).

Trauma of separation

Trauma is the occurrence of an extreme situation that triggers and associates with the

intensity of fear, pain, overwhelming anxiety, helplessness, depression, and low self-esteem

(Lantz & Raiz, 2003; Rankin & Taucher, 2003). An example of such an extreme situation is

separation of children from their parents (Lantz, 1978, 1993; Lantz & Thorword, 1985; cited in

Lantz & Raiz, 2003), which is mainly the focus of this research. When satellite babies experience

the separation from their parents, it can be perceived as a threat of abandonment, thus it may be

traumatic for them. They may have believed that it was because they were not “good” that their

parents decide to send them away to China. A period of separation can be a stressful experience

that enhances an anxious attachment or an aggressive detachment and might have caused the

children to feel angry towards their parents (Bowlby, 1973; Levy & Orlans, 1998).

Art Therapy

Art therapy and attachment issues

Art therapy has been found to be useful in treating children who have undergone a

traumatic event. Malchiodi (2008) suggested that utilizing psychotherapy as well as other

interventions that focus on the sensory impact of trauma, such as arts therapies, is necessary

when treating children who are dealing with trauma. It has been found that it could be

therapeutic and nonthreatening when using art to facilitate exposure to traumatic cues

(Kozlowska & Hanney, 2001). Art therapy can also be a tool to desensitize children by using

controllable materials to trigger the traumatic memories and re-experience the traumatic feelings


in small doses so that the children can gain a positive perception of the present and have

expectations of the future.

Bird’s nest drawing (BND) and attachment

The main attachment diagnostic drawing assessment is the Bird’s Nest Drawing (BND)

created by Kaiser (1996). It is an art-based assessment that has been found to be useful in

assessing the attachment between a child and the caregiver (Kaiser, 1996; cited in Sheller, 2007;

Kaiser & Deaver, 2009). This drawing assessment is less threatening and easier to depict the

emotional distance by using the metaphor of the bird’s nest imagery (Kaiser, 1996; cited in

Kaiser & Deaver, 2009). Edinger (1972) suggested that the nest is “a symbol of the maternal and

the protective in its containing function and womblike form” as well as Naumann (1955) noting

that the nest has protecting and containing aspects (cited in Kaiser, 1996, p. 334). The BND can

provide clinical information about a client’s attachment security, thus affecting the development

of a therapeutic relationship and the art therapy treatment (Kaiser & Deaver, 2009). Kaiser

(1996) believes that the directive can yield informative associations about the contents of the

nest, physical nature of the nest form, whether the nurturing figures are present or absent, and the

existence of eggs or baby birds (Kaiser & Deaver, 2009).

BND checklist. Kaiser (1996) found that individuals with a secure style of attachment

would have birds, nests placed in secure environments, and using a lot of colors in their BNDs as

well as reflecting safety, nurturance, and security. Individuals with insecure or avoidant

attachments would have BNDS that did not include birds, have nests tilted (contents in nests may

fall out) or without a bottom (which may appear like a wreath), using lack of colors, and

reflecting danger and vulnerability (Kaiser, 1996). The following are questions used to assess a

BND (Francis, Kaiser, & Deaver, 2003):


1. Are any birds drawn?

2. Are any birds flying?

3. Are any birds in the nest?

4. Is an entire bird family pictured?

5. Is a parent bird distinctly identified?

6. Is any feeding activity seen?

7. Are there eggs in the nest?

8. Is the nest seen from above?

9. Is the nest tilted?

10. Is the nest drawn in profile?

11. Is a whole tree drawn?

12. Is the nest in the tree?

13. Does the tree appear dead or dying?

14. Are any unexpected items included?

15. Is there a faint quality to the drawing?

16. Is color used in the picture?

17. Are 4 or more colors used?

18. Does the color green dominate over other colors?

This criterion is an expansion of Kaiser’s (1993) Attachment Rating Scale. Francis,

Kaiser, and Deaver (2003) modify it to include new items that appeared frequently in the

drawings. The BND checklist helps rate the BNDs to provide valid measurable data. The items

mentioned in the checklist are recurring elements in previous drawings in the researchers’ studies

(Kaiser, 1996; Francis, Kaiser, & Deaver, 2003; Sheller, 2007). For instance, someone with


secure attachment would most likely use green to “commonly represent growth and nurture and

is reasonably expected when a nest is drawn in a tree” (Francis, Kaiser, & Deaver, 2003, p. 128).

The items in the checklist increase the BND’s validity and reliability because they are recurring

across previous studies and thus, results are consistent. As an evidence art-based assessment, the

BND checklist is necessary to be used in any research study when utilizing the BND.

Kaiser’s study (1996). In Kaiser’s study (1996), the sample consisted of 41 women from

a university day care center whose age ranged from 21 to 38 years old. Each participant was seen

individually at the day care center. They were provided with a sheet of 8 ½” by 11” white paper,

a pencil with an eraser, and a pack of 8 thin markers to draw a bird’s nest. After completing the

drawing, each participant completed the Attachment to Mother scale of the Inventory of Parent

and Peer Attachment (Armsden & Greenberg, 1987; cited in Kaiser, 1996) as well as a

questionnaire that provided demographic data (i.e. age, marital status, number of children,

educational level, and income). The Attachment Rating Scale (ARS) was used to rate the

drawings and this checklist had a list of specific characteristics to identify in each drawing.

The results from the study showed that there was an association between secure

attachment patterns and a participant’s inclusion of birds in the BND. For instance, participants

from the Low Attachment Group may be unconsciously expressing lack of support from

significant others when they leave out the parent and/or baby birds in their drawings. In addition,

there were no parent birds drawn in one of the BND to warm, protect, and hatch the eggs which

may suggest the participant’s “intrapsychic experience of early life with an emotionally detached

or uninvolved caretaker” (Kaiser, 1996, p. 338).

Francis, Kaiser, and Deaver’s study (2003). The purpose of this study was to find

important aspects of attachment styles among adult substance abusers. Francis, Kaiser, and


Deaver (2003) were testing to see if BNDs of chemically addicted individuals with different

attachment styles would depict nests differently and to find differences in BNDs between

substance abusers and individuals with no known substance abuse. The sample consisted of 43

volunteers from Veterans’ Administration hospital with chemical dependency or substance abuse

disorders and 27 volunteers with no known history of substance abuse or psychiatric treatment.

Ten percent of the sample was female with the age ranging from 25 to 68 years old. The

participants were asked to complete a brief demographic questionnaire and the Relationship

Questionnaire (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991). After that, they were asked to complete a BND

and provide a story about their drawings. The investigators provided 9” by 12” sheets of off-

white paper, crayons, colored pencils, thin markers, drawing pencil, and an 8 ½” by 11” lined

paper to write their stories.

The results in this study reported that 18.6% of the substance abusers and 63% of non-

substance abusers had a secure attachment style. This suggested that the substance abusers with

an insecure attachment style would be drawn to substances to help manage feeling lonely and

emotional pain. 44% of those in the substance abuse group reported having a dismissing-

avoidant attachment, which suggests that they avoid being involved in relationships. Francis,

Kaiser, and Deaver (2003) advise that attachment theory can explain the differences between the

substance abusers’ reasons to gravitate towards substances as well as the varied treatment plans

based on an individual’s attachment style. The lack of color in BNDs drawn by the participants

with substance abuse may suggest having a lack of energy, lack of investment in doing the task,

or depressive symptoms. This may correlate with their self-report of having an insecure

attachment style.


Sheller’s study (2007). With a sample of four children, 3 girls and 1 boy, the investigator

met with each of them individually for one and a half hours. Sheller (2007) provided a variety of

materials to do a drawing and a clay sculpture of a bird’s nest. Those materials included non-

hardening plastina colored modeling clay, carving tools, a tray to used as a base for the sculpture,

pencil and eraser, assorted colored pencils, assorted markers (broad and thin), crayons, and 11”

by 14” white paper. In addition to creating the artworks, the children were also asked to tell a

story about them.

It was found that the children are able to easily express their thoughts, emotions, and

perceptions about the caregiving experiences through the bird’s nest drawing and sculpture

(Sheller, 2007). The children were able to communicate their perceptions and expectations about

available care, nurturing, and relationships with their caregivers through telling their narratives

about their creations. In the narratives, the theme of the world is a dangerous place was apparent

when the birds in their stories felt vulnerable. For instance, one participant demonstrated this by

drawing the nest in a low tree, which is vulnerable to environmental circumstances. Children

have responded positively to the art making experience of creating the Bird’s Nest sculpture and

drawing. According to Sheller (2007), they liked making the sculpture more than the drawing

because it was enjoyable to build something and the manipulation of the materials (i.e. punching,

cutting, pulling) helped relieve their anxiety and release an appropriate discharge of energy

(Smilansky, Hagan, & Lewis, 1988; cited in Sheller, 2007).

This directive will be useful when working with the Chinese satellite babies in order to

understand their perceptions of attachments with their parents. Kaiser (1996) states that:

“Client understanding of relationship and intimacy issues, when introduced through the

BND, often elicits responses of recognition and insight that promotes the healing of


disturbed attachments and the building of strengthening of a mutual connectedness with

others” (p. 340).

Therefore, using the BND with this population may provide insight to these children and the

change in their behaviors can begin.


Chapter III

Methodology

Research design

Qualitative research

Qualitative research uses observations and reflections, or subjective responses of the

researcher and participants to the problem or situation (Deaver, 2002). These observations and

reflective responses become the data. It examines an existing phenomenon and aims to draw

conclusions about the phenomenon (Deaver, 2002). Deaver (2002) provides the following

example depicting a qualitative study:

For example, an art therapist researcher systematically investigates a client’s response to

working in clay through means of in-depth interviews. She analyzes both the client’s and

her own responses to the therapy sessions and the post-session interviews, discovers

consistent themes, and draws some conclusions about clay work that may add to the

theoretical underpinnings of our clinical practice (Deaver, 2002, p. 24).

In art therapy research, artwork can also be used as part of the data collection.

Interpretations and conclusions about the artwork are based on anecdotal reports (Deaver, 2002).

These interpretations of the art and the art symbolism are enduring features of art therapy

research (Kapitan, 2010).

Case study

Case study research is an exploration of a phenomenon that seeks to ensure that it is well

explored as well as the “essence of the phenomenon is revealed” (Baxter & Jack, 2008, p. 545).

Its in-depth data collection and systematic analysis from multiple sources (i.e. treatment records,

interview data, observations, documents, texts or artworks) are used to understand and learn from


particular interested encounter(s) (Kapitan, 2010). Case study research can be helpful in

observing how an individual or specific quality changes over a period of time due to specific

circumstances or interventions (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010). A case study design should be

considered when: (a) the focus of the study is answering “how” and “why” questions; (b) the

behavior of the participant(s) cannot be manipulated; (c) the research is focused on the following

the process; (d) investigates a single phenomenon (Yin, 2003; cited from Baxter & Jack, 2008;

Gerring, 2004). Case study research can be done as a single case study or a multiple case study,

which involves using more than one case in the research study. In this case, I will be discussing a

single case study design.

Single case study. A single case study method describes and focuses on one specific

individual associated with the single phenomenon that is being observed and explored. This

method can be used to confirm or challenge a specific theory (Baxter & Jack, 2008). Yin (2003)

indicates that a single case study approach requires detailed observations and investigation to

help minimize the researcher’s misinterpretations (Baxter & Jack, 2008).

Validity and reliability. Case research with rich and detailed descriptions of the process

also can help increase its validity. The major issue that can interfere with the validity of case

study research is the subjective bias of the investigator since the observations and subjective

responses are based on the researcher’s perspective (Kapitan, 2010). Triangulation, or using

multiple sources of data, can help clarify meaning and verify one’s observations and

interpretations (Stake, 1994; cited from Kapitan, 2010). Thus, triangulation and having other

researchers check the investigator’s study can increase its validity and reliability.

A qualitative research study was conducted using a single case study method to examine

a participant’s process and artwork to better understand the impact that art interventions can have


on him/her. As Waller (2006) suggested, making art in a safe environment might enable a child

to explore and express feelings that cannot easily be put into words. Data collection for this study

included: brief interviews with the parents and program director to gain a basic knowledge about

the participant, children’s artworks, and clinical process notes.

Participant

One recruited participant is between six and eight years old and is a participant in CPC

COMPASS program. He/she was recruited through the referrals of the director and classroom

teachers, based on the fulfillment of the research criteria (See Appendix A).

In addition, I have attached the letter of cooperation from the program director, consent

form for the parents and assent form for the child. These signed forms state their approval to

proceed with the study, which was obtained before starting the art therapy sessions.

Participant selection procedure

The director of the program recruited the participants through the teachers’ knowledge of

the students who fulfill the criteria (See Appendix A). After that, this researcher observed the

students in their classrooms during the hours of the afterschool program to narrow down the

participants to one subject. After that, a consent form was given to the parent(s) to receive

permission to work with their child and to participate in the study. Simultaneously, this

researcher will interview the parent(s) to gain information about their children and reasons for

sending them back to China. There will be an interpreter from the program to help translate

during these conducted interviews. The Chinese interpreter explained the consent form to the

parent and I explained the assent form to the child in English.


Child’s psychosocial description

The participant’s pseudonym name for this study is Samantha. She is a Chinese female

who is 6 years old and currently in the second grade at John Bowne P.S.20Q. Samantha was born

in the U.S. Her mother, who is the consenting parent, decided to send her back to China once she

turned one year old. Samantha was raised in China for four years by her grandparents and came

back to her mother and father when she was five years old. Samantha told me that her first time

seeing her birth parents was at the airport. She said that it was a scary experience at first, but she

was happy to see them. During the art therapy sessions, she revealed that she had a younger

brother who is currently in kindergarten and goes to another afterschool program within the same

school. During our discussions, Samantha appears to have a good relationship with her little

brother by saying, “We play together when we are at our friend’s house.”

According to her CPC teachers, she does not speak fluent English, but she is able to

understand it. Her reading level is below second grade level standards and her writing is also

below standards. When observing her in the classroom, she has difficulty completing her

homework independently and efficiently.

Setting

Chinese-American Planning Council COMPASS program is an afterschool program

located in John Bowne Public School 20 at Flushing, Queens, NY. It is a non-profit program that

aims to help children from low-income families, especially recently immigrated Chinese

families. This program emphasizes on children’s academics, emotional, social and psychological

developments, as well as promoting cultural competency. The director of the program, Lois Lee,

has over 40 years of experience of teaching and working with high risk and low-income families.

There are 200 children participating in this program and it has over 40 staff members, including


program aide, education specialist, 27 teachers, 10 extra tutors, and 3 senior aides. Each group of

children, led by at least 2 teachers, have their own classroom shared with the P.S.20

schoolteacher. The art therapy sessions will take place in an empty classroom for privacy with a

supply of art materials that I can utilize for the sessions.

Art Therapy Process

The participant has individual sessions with me once a week for five weeks; each session

was for forty-five minutes during the center’s afterschool program. The art therapy sessions took

place in an empty classroom provided by the program director. I administered a projective art

assessment, the Bird’s Nest Drawing for two sessions. For two sessions, I provided the Bird’s

Nest sculpture to follow the bird’s nest motif, but in a different medium. The last session was an

opportunity for the participant to complete the Bird’s Nest sculpture.

The rationale for using the Kaiser’s (1996) projective assessment, the Bird’s Nest

Drawing, is that studies (Kaiser, 1996; Francis, Kaiser, & Deaver, 2003; Sheller, 2007) have

demonstrated that this directive has value in understanding an individual’s attachment. This was

said to be a non-threatening approach and alternative to Kaplan’s family drawings in assessing

one’s relationship to family members by using the bird’s nest as a motif.

This assessment was preferred over other directives that assess attachment (Mother-child

drawings) because the Asian population is very sensitive towards the subject of speaking about

their families especially in a perceived negative way. Using the bird’s nest and birds in the

drawings is non-threatening and indirect way to project feelings and thoughts about one’s

relationships with the family.

At the end of every session, there was fifteen minutes for discussion about the artwork

and reflected on the process during the session. I developed a personal therapeutic relationship


with the participant so it was less threatening for him/her to freely express him/herself in the

sessions. When the session is completed, I brought the participant back to her afterschool

classroom.

Benefits and limitations

The benefit of the single case study is that it will add on to the existing literature on the

use of art therapy within a multicultural context with immigrant children. Additionally, it is

anticipated that the participant will gain some insight into her behavior. The limitation of this

study is that this data cannot be generalized to the larger population. There is limited validity and

reliability for single case studies as well as limited validity for a study that encompasses a five-

week period.


Chapter IV

Results

First session

I picked up Samantha from the cafeteria when she finished eating her snack. Then we

went to an empty classroom with the door closed to maintain privacy for our initial session.

Samantha appeared very shy and soft-spoken. I went through the assent form with her to make

sure she understood the content presented in the form and she signed it. Then I introduced the

directive to Samantha, “I would like you to draw a picture with a bird’s nest in it.” At first, she

said she did not know how to draw it. However, I encouraged her to draw what she could do and

that it doesn’t matter how well she can draw. I also introduced the materials in front of her: white

paper, oil pastels, pencil with an eraser, kneaded eraser, and markers. Samantha proceeded to

draw. She started with drawing out the nest, eggs, and bird in that order in pencil.

Samantha was calm and attentive to the task. She picked up the pencil first to draw out

the nest, eggs, and bird in that order. Before she drew the bird, she asked, “Can I draw a bird?” I

told her that she definitely could draw one if she wanted. So after drawing the nest, she drew the

bird. Afterwards, she used the brown oil pastel to color in the nest and black oil pastel to color

the bird. I found it most intriguing that she colored the bird in black color because black may

suggest negative feelings like anger. When she finished coloring the bird, she said, “I’m done.” I

asked her, “Okay is there anything else you would like to do?” She shook her head indicating

“No.” Then I began asking her about the drawing.

Discussion

First, I asked her, “So what did you draw?” She said, “It’s a bird’s nest with eggs and a

bird.” To further explore her drawing, I continued to ask her, “So is the bird a ‘Mama bird’?”


Samantha replied, “Yes.” Then I pointed at the three round shapes in the middle of the nest and

asked her, “What are these?” Apparently, they were three eggs. I wondered where the bird’s nest

was located because the image appeared to be “floating in the air.” She told me that it was on the

tree, but I asked her, “Where is the tree?” Then Samantha drew the tree and colored it. After that,

she took the markers and traced around each part of the image based on the color she used. For

instance, she used the brown marker to trace the tree trunk and bird’s nest; green marker to trace

the leaves of the tree; and black marker to trace the bird. This was done because she said she

wanted to make sure that I knew what she drew.

Samantha described the right two eggs as birds hatching out of their shells. Then I wanted

to connect her experience as a satellite baby to her drawing. Initially, I asked her, “So which egg

are you?” Samantha pointed at the first egg on the left. I asked her to describe it. She said, “The

bird is hiding in the egg.” I asked her why the bird is hiding. Her response was, “Because she

thinks she’s ugly and scary.“ With some thought, I asked her, “So what is the mama bird doing?”

“She is taking care of the baby birds who hatched by giving worms to them,” Samantha stated. I

felt confused especially with what she already have described about the hidden bird. Thus, I

questioned her, “But I thought this bird (pointing the first bird) is hiding.” She replied, “She’s

waiting for her to come out to be fed.” Samantha further describes the hidden bird of being

scared of the mama bird thinking that she’s ugly and scary. Initially, Samantha said that she used

black to color the mama bird because she liked the color, but then later on, she described the bird

as being scary. Thus, it is difficult to indicate her reasons for using the black color for the bird,

but in the drawing, the mama bird appears scary and unknown. I ended the session by telling her

that she did a great job with her drawing and thanked her for coming to talk about it with me.

Then I brought her back to her classroom.


Outcome

To connect to her experience as a satellite baby, she may have felt that she was “ugly and

scary” to her mother. Therefore she may have been scared to meet her mother for the first time

after approximately four years at the airport. When I mentioned this connection to Samantha, she

agreed. It was difficult to receive concrete descriptive answers from her; hence the many

questions I had to ask her to further explore the drawing. I was curious about why she was very

soft-spoken and did not provide the answers to questions about her family as well as her

experience of the reverse-migration. So I asked her, “Are you afraid that you will get in trouble if

you talk about your family?” She nodded indicating, “Yes.” This is consistent with the Chinese

culture, in which children should respect and obey their parents no matter what the parents do

(Lee, 1997). Additionally, if the children behave or say something inappropriately, the parents

may withdraw confidence and support. This may cause anxiety for the children especially

Samantha in this case, of losing her parents’ support (Lee, 1997). I attempted to reassure her that

it was okay to discuss about her experiences and family, and that she would certainly not get in

trouble. However, that was unsuccessful. To not make her feel any more uncomfortable, I ended

the session with complimenting her drawing and asked her how she felt at the end, which she

replied with, “happy.”

Analysis

In this drawing, the bird nest looks like a brown wreath, as the nest is tilted as well as

bottomless. This may reflect a sense of danger and vulnerability (Francis, Kaiser, & Deaver,

2003). There are three colorless eggs inside the nest and appear to be located in an unsecure

environment. The environment looks unsecure because there is a lack of background and has

only white space. This may implicate an unconscious representation of subjective experiences in


early life with attachment figures and feeling a lack of security from important affective

relationships (Kaiser, 1996). The great amount of white space that Samantha did not use on the

paper was consistent with the participants’ BNDs in Overbeck’s (2002) study and Trewartha’s

(2004) study (Kaiser & Deaver, 2009). The tree appears to have fragile branches and the

branches are not able to hold up the nest. This may provide a sense of danger. It is consistent

with a participant in Sheller’s (2007) study who stated the branch of the tree was “thin” and “not

so secure” (p. 122). However, the tree is not dying or dead. The whole tree is drawn except the

roots. Lack of roots may suggest insecurity and inadequacy or possibly clinging for

compensatory security (Kerr, 2014). Only three colors were used in this drawing: brown, black,

and green. The green does not dominate the other colors in the drawing. There is one bird drawn

that is black and is identified by Samantha as the mother bird. The black colored bird may

suggest that it is wish to appear mysterious (Kerr, 2014). It is not flying and there is no feeding

activity seen. The entire family is not drawn, as the father is not apparent in the drawing or

discussed in the discussion. It can be assumed that the main attachment figure Samantha

identifies with is her mother. According to Kaiser (1996), these indicators as a whole may

suggest that she has an insecure or avoidant attachment style.


Figure 1: Bird’s Nest Drawing (1)

Second session

Samantha finished eating her snack in the cafeteria and prepared to come with me to the

classroom for our second session. She brought her backpack. She notified me that she did not

complete her homework. She had a lot of homework to do. I reassured her that she was capable

of finishing her homework by dismissal time. Her smiling was congruent with her response. She

looked happy. I asked her, “What are you happy about today?” She replied, “We are having a

party. Today is Ms. V’s birthday.”

I provided the directive for this session, “I would like you to draw a picture with a bird’s

nest again like you did last time.” I reviewed what she could draw in her picture this time to

make sure she understood what she could include in this drawing. This was necessary because in

the first session, she appeared unsure of what she could draw in her picture. I reassured her,

“You draw whatever you want in the picture as long as you have a bird’s nest in it.” She was

familiar with the materials placed in front of her: oil pastels, markers, and pencil with eraser.

Samantha drew her bird, nest, tree, clouds and two people in that specific order. When she


finished coloring her picture with the oil pastels, she asked, “Can I trace the images with

markers?” I replied, “Absolutely you can!” She took the markers and traced the images in her

drawing. She placed her drawing in front of me and said, “I’m done.”

Discussion and outcome

I asked her, “So what is the story you have for this picture.” She took awhile to respond.

She appeared to have some trouble coming up with a narrative. Consequently, I asked her, “Tell

me what did you draw.” She said, “This is a bird, the clouds, the nest, tree, and two people.” I

asked her, “What kind of weather is it?” I asked her this question because she colored the clouds

black. She replied, “It is sunny.” I was confused by this response. I further questioned, “It

doesn’t look sunny? Where’s the sun?” She took the pencil and was about to draw the sun, but I

let her know that she didn’t have to. She placed her pencil down. I asked her, “Why are the

clouds this color (pointing at the black clouds)?” She said, “It is nighttime.” Also I asked, “Who

are these two people?” Samantha said, “This is a boy and a girl.” I asked, “Who is older and the

younger?” She said, “This is the younger boy (pointing at the boy on the bottom corner left of

the drawing). She said that, “This is the older girl (pointing at the girl next to the boy).” I

questioned, “What are they doing?” Her response was, “They’re looking at the bird.”

When I wanted to ask questions to go deeper into the drawing such as “Why are there no

eggs in the nest?” and “What is the bird looking at?” she stopped answering my questions. She

may be resistant to answer. Or conversely, due to her developmental stage, she might not able to

comprehend the rationale for what she had drawn in her picture. I made this assumption because

when I attempted to connect the two people in her drawing to her and her brother, her facial

expression changed. She appeared confused. It is important to note that in her last bird’s nest


drawing, she had drawn a tree, nest, bird, and eggs. In contrast, this second drawing has a full

background and foreground, which appears more expressive than the previous drawing.

In this session, her drawing raises so many questions. However, I was not able to get

answers for these questions from Samantha. Also, I asked Samantha to look at some obvious

differences between her first BND drawing and this second attempt at this assessment. Again I

was unsuccessful in getting any response. She was quiet, but she did appear curious and

intrigued.

I asked her if she liked her first drawing better or the drawing she did in this second

session. She answered, “I like this one (pointing at her second drawing) better because the

pictures are bigger.” Samantha acknowledged that she was more comfortable with the materials

than the last session. When asking open-ended questions to Samantha, she seems to have more

difficulty answering these types of open-ended questions in contrast to close-ended questions.

Thus, she has difficulty fully expressing herself. I explained to her, “While you’re here, it is your

time to practice expressing yourself so you can tell teachers about how you feel and if there’s

anything wrong, the teachers are here to help you.” She appeared to understand this. I told her

she did a good job. I finished my conversation with her by asking her if she was comfortable. I

asked her, “How do you feel after this?” She replied, “Happy.”

Analysis

The second BND was significantly different from the first BND in terms of content. The

drawing has more content than the first drawing. There are three clouds that may represent her

brother, her mother, and herself, excluding her father. Clouds may suggest anxiety that is

“hanging over one’s head” and there are three clouds (Schwartz, 2014, p. 149). The nest is also

different from the first BND because in this drawing, the nest does not appear to be shaped as a


wreath. However, the egg appears to be tilted, which may suggest a sense of vulnerability. The

nest also has no eggs. This is consistent with a participant in Sheller’s (2007) study, which she

created a nest without eggs. It may implicate the inadequacy of the attachment figure to protect,

nurture, or provide. Similar to the first BND, the bird is black, nest is brown, and the tree has

green leaves with a brown trunk. The profile black bird may suggest evasiveness and mysterious

(Kerr, 2014). The tree also does not have roots in this drawing, which suggest clinging to

compensatory security or insecurity (Kerr, 2014). It also does not have branches to securely hold

the oversized nest. It may suggest a sense of danger. As Samantha has mentioned in the session

that she has a younger brother, it can be assumed that the boy and girl in the drawing are of her

and her brother. They are placed in the bottom right corner, which may suggest possible

withdrawn tendencies. The clouds are colored black. According to Samantha, the clouds are

black because it reflects nighttime in the drawing. However, this may suggest a sense of loss,

mystery, or darkness (Kerr, 2014). Overall, this drawing may also depict Samantha’s

insecure/avoidant attachment style.

Figure 2: Bird’s Nest Drawing (2)


Third session

In this third session, I attempted to engage her in sculpting the Bird’s Nest. Like usual, I

picked up Samantha from the cafeteria after she finished eating her snack. I asked her, “How are

you today?” She replied, “Good.” When we entered and sat down in the classroom, I introduced

Samantha to the new material that was placed in front of her, Crayola model magic. I had

packets of white model magic as well as a variety of primary colored model magic clay. I gave

her the choice of working with a single white color or with the variety colored packets. She

chose to work with the variety of colored clay. Samantha appeared very intrigued with the

texture and usage of the material. I demonstrated how she could combine the different colored

clay together to make a new color. For instance, I explained to her that combining red and blue

will turn purple, blue and yellow is green, and red and yellow turns orange. She experimented

with combining the different colored clay for a few minutes. She asked, “Can I make balloons?”

I responded, “Sure, but maybe next time we meet we can do that.” She nodded her head showing

that she understood.

Then I told her, “I would like you to make a sculpture of a bird’s nest using clay.” I

further explained what a sculpture is. I said a sculpted bird’s nest is “something that you can look

all around and it can stand up by itself”. I indicated to her that she could start. As she began, she

created round shapes with the colored clay and placed it on the sheet of paper that I provided. I

felt confused as I observed her making balloons. She put them onto her paper. I asked her, “Are

you making balloons? What makes you interested in making balloons?” She did not answer me.

She was most interested in how she can turn the clay into brown. I replied, “If you take some

black, red, and yellow clay, you can make brown.” For fifteen minutes, we worked together to

create the brown colored clay she wanted. When we were finally finished in making the brown


clay, she elongated the clay and took pieces of the clay to place on the paper. She shaped and

flattened it on the paper as it appears in Figure 3.

Discussion

During the last five minutes of the session, she expressed her dislike for her artwork. She

said, “I don’t like it. It doesn’t look like the way I wanted it.” I wasn’t sure how she wanted it to

look like so I told her to use her finger to outline what she imagined. I asked her, “So what is this

picture of?” She replied, “It’s a bird.”

Outcome

Samantha appeared frustrated throughout the process of making the brown colored clay.

At the end, Samantha was not able to create her envisioned Bird’s Nest sculpture. I let her know

that she can take the model magic clay off the paper. She did. Due to the lack of time, she was

not able to make a bird’s nest along with the bird. While creating the bird with the clay, she was

ripping the clay off the paper a few times to readjust it like she would with a pencil.

Unsuccessful attempt to follow this directive, she appeared to enjoy working with the model

magic clay rather than working with the oil pastels and markers. She was not able to give me a

reason why she liked the clay. She said she liked the clay because of the colors and molding and

sculpting the colored clay. This is consistent with children in a study who also responded

positively to the making Bird’s Nest sculptures because the enjoyable experience of building and

manipulation of materials (Sheller, 2007). I ended the session by saying how she did a good job

working with the clay. Also I let her know that in the next session, she would be able to make the

Bird’s Nest sculpture.


Analysis

Samantha wanted to create a bird with brown clay by making and shaping long pieces of

clay to press down onto the paper to make it look like a bird. At the end of the session, she

expressed dislike of the image and wanted to start over again in the nest session. It is difficult to

analyze this image as it is not a complete artwork and it does not reflect what Samantha had

imagined creating. Though, it is interesting that she desired to create brown clay to sculpt the

bird. Using brown for the bird may suggest fertility or reliability (Kerr, 2014).

Figure 3: Bird’s Nest Sculpture

Fourth session

When Samantha finished eating her snack in the cafeteria, we went up to our usual

classroom for our session. While walking up to the classroom, I asked her, “How are you

today?” She responded with her usual response, “Good.” Also I initiated a conversation about

her new glasses that I’ve noticed and how she liked them. Samantha smiled when I noticed her

glasses and she told me she liked them.


We arrived at our classroom and she sat in the same chair as she usually sat in the

previous sessions. I asked her, “So do you remember what we talked about what we are doing

today?” Samantha shook her head indicating “No”. I responded, “So I would like you to create a

Bird’s Nest sculpture. Do you remember what we were trying to do last week?” She shook her

head again indicating “No.” I reminded her, “Well, we were experimenting with the clay and

then we tried to make a bird’s nest by first making brown clay. But you didn’t like it at the end

so I told you that today we are going to make it the way you wanted it.” She said, “Ohhh okay”

as her face lit up indicating she remembered and understood the objective of this session. I

informed her of the directive and asked her, “Now I would like you to make a bird’s nest. Would

you like to use the brown clay we tried to make today?” She replied, “No.” I questioned her,

“What would you like to do first?” Samantha said, “The nest.” Then to help her, I asked, “What

color would you like to use then for your nest?” She replied, “Black.” I stated, “Well we have

some black clay left, is this going to be enough? (Showing Samantha the small ball of black

clay).” Samantha assured me that it was enough. As she proceeded with making the nest, I used

the white model magic clay to make something as well, with the possibility of her being less

resistant to share information about her experience as a satellite baby. In previous sessions, I sat

next to her and observed her art making process, which may have made her feel uncomfortable.

Thus in this session, I took a different approach by creating art with her to make her feel

comfortable with the hopes of Samantha being able to verbally express herself openly.

While Samantha was making the nest out of the black model magic, I was making a bird

out of the white model magic. She appeared curious and eager to see what I was making. She

asked me, “What is that?” I responded, “It’s a bird.” Immediately, she asked, “Can I have it?” In

response, I said, “Sure. Do you want to use it for your sculpture?” She said, “Yes!” However, I


wanted Samantha to use her imagination and creativity to make her own bird, so I said, “How

about you try to make your own first and if you really don’t like it, then you can use mine for

your sculpture.” She agreed with this suggestion. We proceeded with our art making. Samantha

was making the eggs with blue model magic and I was making the feet of the bird. Samantha

appeared to find it amusing when I asked her, “How many feet does a bird have? Is it supposed

to look like this?” She responded, “Two” and “Yes”.

During this process, I attempted to ask Samantha about her reverse-migration experience.

I initiated the topic to Samantha by saying, “So there are children who were born here and goes

back to China like you did. When they come back here to the U.S., they get angry with their

mommy and daddy because they don’t know whom they are so they hit and kick. How about

you? Were you also like that?” Samantha said, “After coming back to China, I used to hit mom

and dad when I got angry. I also didn’t listen to them.” This is consistent with research on

satellite babies, in which these children could be less obedient when they are reunited with their

parents in the U.S. (Kwong et al., 2009). The Bird’s Nest sculpture may have allowed her to gain

insight on what happened when she was reunited with her parents in the U.S. This may promote

the building of strengthening of a mutual connectedness (Kaiser, 1996).

I went further to ask, “How about in school? Did going to school help you listen to mom

and dad?” She responded, “Yes.” I was curious about her first experience in school in the U.S. so

I asked, “How was your first time being in school in the U.S.? Was it hard? How did you feel?”

Her response was, “Yes, I didn’t know any English. I didn’t know what teachers were saying. I

was scared. Teachers yelled at me a lot. I don’t know why.” After that, I wondered, “How about

now? How are you doing in school? Do you understand your teachers now?” She answered, “I

understand more now. I am doing okay in school. Sometimes I don’t understand.” I asked,


“What don’t you understand? Any subject you are having a hard time with?” She said, “Social

studies. It is hard to understand what is going on. Learning past events is hard.” I reassured her

that it is fine because I informed her that I had a hard time with social studies as well when I was

in elementary school.

Then Samantha was attempting to make her bird. She used the brown model magic clay

we had made in the last session to make the bird. She flattened the clay onto the table to shape it

into a bird and it was twice as big as her nest sculpture. Afterwards, she expressed her dislike

towards her sculpture and I asked her, “Do you want to use my bird for your sculpture?” She

said, “Yes.” I gave Samantha the bird that I created and she tried to make it stand on its four legs

onto the nest she created. However, the four legs on the bird were too delicate. Samantha knew it

was not going to stand so she pushed the bird down onto the nest. Then the bird looked like it

was sitting onto the nest. She pinched the sides of the clay bird making it flatter than it was

before I gave it to her.

Discussion

When she told me she finished, I asked her, “So what is the story about this sculpture?”

Like in the other sessions, she was not able to provide a narrative for the sculpture. Thus, I

adapted the question to: “Tell me about the sculpture. What did you make?” She said, “This is

the nest (pointing at the black clay) and these are the eggs (pointing at the blue round shapes that

were blended into the black clay). This is the bird (pointing at the white shaped clay).” My

response was, “Okay. Great! I’m wondering, why did you use black as the nest? You seemed to

like using black a lot as it shows in the other drawings. What does black mean to you? Weak?

Strong? Sad? Angry?” Samantha replied, “Strong.” Afterwards, I asked, “So what is the bird


doing? Are the eggs hatched or not hatched?” She said, “Bird is waiting and watching the eggs

hatch. The eggs are not hatched.”

Outcome

Samantha was satisfied with the appearance of the sculpture at the end. I asked her if she

would like to take it home, she said, “No.” I offered her a chance to paint the sculpture in the

next session and she agreed to it. With the chance of painting her sculpture, she may feel proud

about her artwork and eventually would want to take it home. In this session, Samantha was

more verbal and expressive when making the sculpture than in the previous sessions. My

approach to make artwork with her may have allowed her to open up and verbalize her thoughts,

thus in this session, she was less resistant. In addition to that, Samantha found the manipulation

of materials and being able to build something was enjoyable. This may have helped Samantha

relieve her anxiety and release an appropriate amount of energy as well (Smilansky, Hagan, &

Lewis, 1988; cited in Sheller, 2007). However, it seemed apparent throughout these sessions that

it is difficult to ask open-ended questions. This is consistent with Overbeck’s (2002) and Francis

et al.‘s (2003) studies, in which the participants had a tendency to provide brief drawing

descriptions as well (Kaiser & Deaver, 2009). When I provide different choices to answer the

questions, she is able to respond. This session was successful in which Samantha was able to tell

me more about her reverse-migration and acculturation to the U.S. experiences. Consistent with

Sheller (2007), it is found to be easier to express feelings, thoughts, and perceptions about the

caregiving experiences through the Bird’s Nest sculpture.

Analysis

A bird is apparent in the sculpture. The bird appears large in contrast to the size of the

black nest. A participant in Sheller’s (2007) study also created larger attachment figures and


expressed concern that attachment figures should be bigger in order to provide safety. The eggs

are blue. The blue color may suggest calmness or loyalty (Kerr, 2014). The nest is black, which

may reflect a womb or mystery (Kerr, 2014). The nest is sculpted flat and without edges so the

bird and eggs may fall out of the nest. Although the nest has no edges, Samantha made sure she

securely placed the bird onto the nest and placing the blue eggs into the nest so they would not

fall out. This may suggest a slight sense of vulnerability and insecurity (Sheller, 2007).

Samantha’s sense of security may be improving from the last three sessions as demonstrated by

her securely pressing down the bird sculpture and eggs onto the black nest.

Figure 4: Bird’s Nest Sculpture (unpainted)

Fifth Session

This was our final session. The goal in this session was to finish Samantha’s sculpture

that she had previously made in the fourth session by painting it. I picked Samantha up from the

indoor playground as her class was there having playtime. We walked to the classroom and I

asked, “How are you today Samantha?” Samantha said, “Good.” I further asked, “Do you have a

lot of homework? Did you finish any?” She informed me that she did not finish any homework,


but she started working on it. I asked her, “Do you know what we are doing today?” She had no

idea. I reminded her that in this session, she was painting her sculpture to finish it. Her facial

expression and verbal expression of “Ohhh” indicated that she recalled our conversation.

We arrived at the classroom and the sculpture she had made in the fourth session was

already set up on the table. I introduced the materials that were on the table: watercolor palette,

an assortment of brushes, and a cup of water. I explained how to use the materials. Then I asked

her, “What color are you planning to use to paint your sculpture?” She answered, “Brown.” I told

her that she could start. She proceeded to paint the sculpture. Samantha painted the whole

sculpture that includes the eggs, nest, and bird. The bird was painted with brown watercolor. I

found it odd that she painted the black nest and blue eggs with black watercolor because these

parts of the sculpture were already colored.

Discussion and outcome

When she finished painting, we had five minutes for discussion. To answer my curiosity

about the nest and eggs, I asked her, “Why did you color the nest and especially the eggs?” Her

response was, “I wanted to add more color to it. I painted over the eggs because the bird will

make more eggs later.” It appears that she was creating a whole new narrative for the painted

sculpture. In the previous session, she did not like her sculpture as much to take it home. After

painting her sculpture, she asked, “Can I take it home?” I was shocked and responded, “Yes, of

course! Would you also like to take your drawings home?” She nodded her head. When I asked

her how these sessions has helped her and if it helped her express herself. She said, “I feel it is

easier to express my feeling and thoughts.” Sheller found that children are able to communicate

their perceptions and feelings about the caregiving experiences through the Bird’s Nest directive.

It seemed apparent throughout these sessions, especially in session four.


Analysis

Samantha painted the previous white bird brown. Painting the bird brown may reflect

new beginnings or fertility (Kerr, 2014). It is also considered an earthy color (Kerr, 2014). The

nest and eggs are painted black. Samantha has mentioned in the previous session that black

meant strong to her. Painting the nest and eggs black may suggest mystery or a new beginning,

which is evident when Samantha mentioned that she painted over the eggs because “the bird can

lay more eggs later” (Kerr, 2014). With positive feedback and perception of the art making

experiences by Samantha, it can be implicated that she has a better sense of security and she is

willing to repair her attachment with her mother.

Figure 5: Bird’s Nest Sculpture (painted)


Chapter V

Conclusion

Anecdotal reports and some studies have recognized that “satellite babies” is a growing

phenomenon and a significant problem (Chang, 2009; Kapoor, 2011; Bohr & Tse, 2009; Kwong,

Chung, Sun, Chou, & Shih, 2009; Kwong, 2014). These past researchers investigated what were

the parents’ motivations and resulting impact behind their decision to send their children back to

China to be with extended family during their child’s early years (Bohr & Tse, 2009; Kwong,

Chung, Sun, Chou, & Shih, 2009; Kwong, 2014). However, there is limited research on how the

children feel and perceive the separation from their birth parents as infants and then coming back

to the U.S. to reunite with their birth parents and also to go to an unfamiliar school.

The main objective of this single case study was to explore how an art therapy

intervention could reduce the negative effects of the reverse-migration separation. In this case,

the BND developed by Kaiser (1996) was used as the art therapy intervention. This investigation

aimed to provide additional insight on the phenomenon as well as substantiate previous research

on the negative effects of separating from the birth parents for a few years (Bohr & Tse, 2009;

Gindling & Poggio, 2012; Kwong, 2014; Rousseau, Mekki-Berrada, & Moreau, 2001; Suarez-

Orozco et al., 2002; Maki et al., 2003). The themes and indicators in the artworks were

examined throughout the sessions based on Kaiser’s (1996) criteria. Additionally, the

participant’s perceptions and feelings about the reverse-migration separation from their parents

and the return to the U.S. to start elementary school were explored.

In this single case study, it was found that engaging in the art making process could

provide a greater sense of security for these children. For instance, Samantha progressively

demonstrated through the sessions that she have sense of security to openly explore and reflect


her reverse-migration experience as a satellite baby. This was recognized during the fourth art

therapy session. This was consistent with previous research that found children were able to

openly discuss their relationship experiences and gain a positive attitude (Sheller, 2007).

The tilted nests that were drawn in Samantha’s first two BNDs indicated that she might

have an insecure/avoidant attachment style. This is consistent throughout other studies that found

tilted nest as an indication of insecure or avoidant attachment (Kaiser, 1996; Francis, Kaiser, &

Deaver, 2003; Sheller, 2007; Kaiser & Deaver, 2009). It can be suggested that this is an

important indicator for assessing an individual’s BND. A tilted nest may suggest vulnerability, in

which the nest is not able to securely maintain the contents (i.e. eggs) within it (Kaiser, 1996;

Francis, Kaiser, & Deaver, 2003; Sheller, 2007).

Administering the Bird’s Nest sculpture directive appeared to be therapeutic for

Samantha. She responded positively to the art making process. Samantha stated that she enjoyed

manipulating the model magic clay and it was fun feeling the clay. In the first three sessions,

Samantha was guarded and did not verbalize her reverse-migration separation experience during

our discussions. In the fourth session when we were working with the model magic clay, she

seemed to feel comfortable to open up about her experience of separating from her parents

during her early years. This is consistent with Sheller’s (2007) study in which participants

reported that they enjoyed the activity because they can build something and they had fun with

the clay texture as it “feels funny, all sticky, and sweaty” (p. 125).

The bird appeared to be a significant figure in all of her artworks in this study. It

represents the mother figure in all of the artworks according to Samantha. In the first two

sessions, she created a black bird, which may symbolize a mysterious figure. Since Samantha’s

mother was absent from her life for about four years, it may be an unconscious representation of


feeling a lack of security from her mother (Kaiser, 1996). Samantha may have perceived her

mother as a stranger when she first arrived to the U.S. and met her mother at the airport (Bohr &

Tse, 2009; Gindling & Poggio, 2012; Kwong, 2014). After that, she decided to create a brown

bird instead. Samantha was not able to verbalize her reasons for changing the color of the bird.

However, it can be assumed that she sees the bird as less mysterious and more as an earthy and

motherly figure; the color brown may represent earthly qualities and fertility (Kerr, 2014).

Additionally, the father figure is absent in all of her artworks, which may suggest that

Samantha does not have a significant affective relationship with her father in contrast to her

relationship with her mother. My discussion with Samantha suggested that her relationship with

her father was not as important, “Dad work long hours and comes home late . . . Like at 9 or 11

at night . . . when he comes home, I am already asleep.” It is not typical for Chinese immigrants

to work long hours to help support the family (Ho, 1987). Due to the long work hours, the

parents are not able to bond with and discipline their children thus it creates parenting problems

as well as damaging their relationship (Bohr & Tse, 2009; Gindling & Poggio, 2012; Kwong,

2014). Creating art with Samantha was the quality time she may have needed to replace the

quality time she did not receive from her parents.

Limitations

There are significant limitations to this study. First of all, it is a single case study. The

findings from this study cannot be generalized to the greater population especially since it was

only a single subject. Secondly, the findings are subjective and can be biased because they are

my own views and perceptions. Another limitation is that when I attempted to ask open-ended

questions, Samantha appeared guarded when answering them or it may be difficult for her to

answer. To elicit responses, I asked questions that provided options of what may be her answer.


For instance, “What does black mean to you? Strong? Weak? Sad? Angry?” There is a

possibility that her answer to the question may be manipulated.

It should also be considered that the wording of the BND directive be clear and specific

(Francis, Kaiser, & Deaver, 2003). This should be considered because in the first session,

Samantha did not know what she could draw for the directive. In every session, it became a

routine to briefly review what she can include in her artworks before the art making process.

Suggestions for future research

The BND could provide valuable information to aid in the assessment and treatment of

individuals with attachment problems and gaining attachment security for satellite

babies/children. Children’s participation in studies to understand their perspectives is critical and

necessary to gain knowledge about insecure attachment patterns (Sheller, 2007). Therefore, it is

suggested for future researchers to repeat this study with satellite babies to continue to gather

findings to support the effectiveness of art therapy in reducing the negative reverse-migration

effects. By repeating the study, it will reduce the subjectivity and possible biases in this original

study. Therefore, it may increase the validity of the results of this study. The advantage of the

study is that the child’s perspective on the reverse-migration experience was examined unlike

researchers who have examined the parents’ perspectives on sending their children back to China

(Bohr & Tse, 2009; Kwong et al., 2009; Kwong, 2014). Building the research on the “satellite

babies” phenomenon will increase one’s knowledge on the negative effects of the reverse-

migration separation; in addition to how to reduce these effects in the future with art therapy

intervention, which can benefit the researchers, parents, and children.


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Appendix A

Recruitment Criteria

1. Must be of ages 6 to 8 years old.

2. Recently returned to the United States from China where they had stayed for about 3 to 4

years after being separated from parents at infancy.

3. Has displayed aggressive behaviors, irritability, and anger.

4. Has Poor academic performance in school.

5. Lacks English language fluency.


Appendix B LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY C.W. POST

Informed Consent Form You are being asked to allow your child to volunteer in a thesis study called Art Therapy Reduces Reverse-Migration Separation Effects on Children, conducted by Daisy Tan, Clinical Art Therapy and Counseling student under the supervision of Naomi Schwartz, Professor, Clinical Art Therapy. The purpose of the project is to examine the reverse-migration separation effects on children and how art therapy is a potential intervention that may reduce these effects. The only possible risk is that your child may feel uncomfortable sharing feelings or working with me. In order to alleviate this discomfort, I will keep the setting comfortable, and my questions non-judgmental. While there is no direct benefit to your child for participation in the project, it is reasonable to expect that the results may provide information of value for the field of Art Therapy. In art therapy, I will be doing different art projects with your child and talk about them with him/her. We will meet for art therapy sessions once per week for eight weeks for 45 minutes. Your child’s identity as a participant will remain confidential. Your child’s name will not be included anywhere in the paper discussing about the project. This consent form is the only document identifying your child as a participant in this project. Photos of your child’s artwork will be used anonymously in the thesis document. Results will be reported only in the document. If you have questions about the project, you may contact the investigator, Daisy Tan, at (347) 884-2421 or the faculty sponsor, Naomi Schwartz at (516) 351-1779. Your child’s participation in this project is voluntary. Refusal to participate or discontinue participation at any time will involve no penalty or loss of benefits to which your child is otherwise entitled. Your signature indicates you have fully read the above text and have had the opportunity to ask questions about the purposes and procedures of this project. Your signature also acknowledges receipt of a copy of the consent form as well as your willingness to allow your child to participate. _________________________________________ Typed/Printed Name of Parent of Participant

_________________________________________ ________________________ Signature of Parent of Participant Date _________________________________________ Typed/Printed Name of Investigator _________________________________________ ________________________ Signature of Investigator Date


Appendix C LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY C.W. POST

Assent Form

Title: Art Therapy Reduces Reverse-Migration Separation Effects on Children Principal Investigator: Daisy Tan Supervising Investigator: Professor Naomi Schwartz Why are you here? I want to work with you and see if doing art can help you feel better after traveling from the US to China and back again to the US to be with your family. Why is this project being done? I want to be able to help you by doing art together and then talking about the art and your feelings. What will happen to me? These things will happen:

1) Answer my questions about your artwork and about yourself. 2) Do art making while I watch you make your artwork.

Will the study hurt? Nothing in this project will hurt you. Will the project help me? It may help you and that’s what I’m trying to find out, if making art and speaking with me can help you feel better and do better in school. Are my artworks going to be used and seen by anyone? Yes. Photos will be taken of only your artworks and will be used in the paper I am writing for school. Only professors, students, and I will see it. What if I have questions? You may ask me questions any time. Do my parents know about this? The project was explained to your parent(s) and they said that you could be in it. You can talk about it with them before you decide what you are going to do. Do I have to be in the project? No. Writing your name on this page means that you have read the page or it has been read to you and you said you want to be in the project. If you decide to quit the project, all you have to do is let me know.

____________________________________ ______________________

PARTICIPANT’S NAME DATE

____________________________________ ______________________

INVESTIGATOR’S SIGNATURE DATE


Appendix D

Research Letter

CHINESE-‐AMERICAN PLANNING COUNCIL, INC. 150 Elizabeth Street, New York, NY 10012 Website: www.cpc-‐nyc.org Tel.: (212) 941-‐0920, Fax: (212) 966-‐8581 A not-‐for-‐profit, multi-‐social service educational and planning organization BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jenny Low, Chair Veronica Tsang, Vice Chair Flora R. Si, Treasurer Eddie Mo, Secretary Pui Chi Cheng Jeffrey Oing Howard Chin Pearl Tam Vanessa Chiu William Tam Josephine Ho Pauline Tse Virginia Kee George Wong Andy Lun Wayne Wong Edward Ma Justin Yu Timothy O’Keefe PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER David S. Chen CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION 212.941.0920 COMMUNITY SERVICES Asian Family Services 212.941.0030 Asian Child Care Resources & Referrals 212.941.0030 HIV/AIDS Services 646.613.8369 Multi-‐Social Service Center 212.431.7800 Special Needs 212.941.0030 CHILD CARE SERVICES Baxter Street 212.431.8574 Jacob Riis 212.533.9138 Chrystie Street 212.431.9124 Little Star 212.673.2680 Confucius 212.925.4325 Pike Street 212.587.0912 Chung Pak 212.343.9630 Garment 212.219.2286 Tribeca 212-‐925.5641 Queens 718.358.8899 BROOKLYN BRANCH 718.492.0409 Multi-‐Social Services Services to Asian Parents of the Disabled Senior Services QUEENS BRANCH 718.358.8899 Multi-‐Social Services Senior Community Service Employment Program Services to Families with Special Needs SENIOR SERVICES Chinatown Senior Citizen Center 212.233.8930 Nan Shan Senior Center 718.358.3030 Open Door Senior Center 212.431.9026 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT 212.941.0041 Adult Literacy Program Career Center Hotel Training Program YOUTH SERVICES Brooklyn Youth Services 718.492.0409 Manhattan Youth Services 212.941.0920 Queens Youth Services 718.358.8899

Institutional Review Board Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus 720 Northern Boulevard Brookville, NY 11548 November 26, 2014 Dear Kathryn Rockett, Executive Secretary, Daisy Tan has been employed by the Chinese-‐American Planning Council since 2007. She is very familiar with the immigrant children and families in our program and the problems they face in adjusting to living in 2 cultures as "satellite babies." Ms. Daisy Tan's research project on this phenomenon will be invaluable and enlightening as we work with this targeted population. There has been very little research done on this problem which affects 60% of our students. Daisy Tan has our permission to conduct her research project with our students and families. Our center has on file, the student consent forms for participation in this project. If you have any questions, please contact me by email at: llee@cpc-‐nyc.org or by phone at 917-‐886-‐2294. Sincerely,

Lois Lee Lois Lee, Director

daisy tan_thesis

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