The purpose of this study is to verify the effect of bibliotherapy program using sandplay therapy on decrease of anxiety and formation of positive self-concept of children. To achieve the aim, the researcher developed the program and conducted it.
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The purpose of this study is to verify the effect of bibliotherapy program using sandplay therapy on decrease of anxiety and formation of positive self-concept of children. To achieve the aim, the researcher developed the program and conducted it.
Children are suffering from various anxious and stressful circumstances in the modern society which has rapid social and environmental changes. Increasing the anxiety, children lose their self-expression and self-trust and they develop negative self-concept. Therefore, it is extremely important for them to get provided an opportunity which they can reduce negative emotion and form positive self-concept. For these reasons, bibliotherapy program using sandplay therapy for therapeutic approach to anxiety and self-concept in childhood was developed and performed to promote emotional reaction, self-expression, problem-solving ability and insight of children.
The subjects of this study were 12 children who were attending 1st and 2nd grade in Y elementary school located in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. They were randomly assigned to an experimental group of 6 and to a control group of 6. For the experimental group, the program was performed twice a week, 90 minutes per session and 10 sessions in total. In order to examine the effect of the program, Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale(RCMAS) and self-concept scale were conducted; the difference between experimental group and control group was compared, using pre-and-post tests. The data collected in this study was verified by basic statistical analysis, a Mann-Whitney U test and a Wilcoxon's Rank Sum test by using SPSS 19.0. Additionally storytelling of children was analyzed qualitatively in order to investigate the change process of children's anxiety and self-concept. For this, all sessions were recorded and then transcribed. After that, storytelling's change factors in the transcript and observation journal were categorized and analyzed according to the program's process stages.
The main results of the study are as follows:
First, bibliotherapy program using sandplay therapy significantly decreases the children's anxiety. The result of verifying the differences between the experimental group and the control group in pre-and-post tests revealed that the experimental group's children had a significant statistical result and a decrease in anxiety score compared to the control group's children.
Second, bibliotherapy program using sandplay therapy changes positively the self-concept of children. The result of verifying the differences between the experimental group and the control group in pre-and-post tests found out that the experimental group's children had significant statistical result and an increase in overall self-concept's score and subfield - general self-concept, academic self-concept, emotional self-concept.
Third, the study showed us the decreasing anxiety and developing process of positive self-concept through storytelling in the program. In the beginning of the program, children evaded the expression of anxiety and had passive attitude. However, they gradually expressed their anxious experiences by identifying themselves with the novel's main character and peer group members. In the middle of the program, they expressed their anxious experiences more specifically; also, they showed positive emotion and tried to overcome the anxiety with feeling catharsis from main character's problem solving. In the last part of the program, they recognized problem objectively and overcame the anxiety confidently and expressed happiness by going through the catharsis and insight process.
As mentioned above, it was confirmed that bibliotherapy program using sandplay therapy decreased children's anxiety and had positive effect on improving their self-concept.
The significance of this study is as follows;
First, this study contributed to variety of bibliotherapy programs by developing the program which used sandplay therapy as afterward activity.
Second, this study verified the effect of using sandplay therapy in bibliotherapy process on enhancing children's emotional reaction, self-expression, problem-solving ability and insight. Thus, it will be able to be applied to therapeutic and preventive approach for children's adaptive growth.
Lastly, this study provided not only the objective evidence of program's effectiveness but also the proof of children's changing process by conducting qualitative research about storytelling, as well.