This study validates the effects of the person-centered group art therapy with theraplay program on improving the emotional and social adaptability of the institutionalized children. The emotional and social adaptability includes self-regulation, peer...
This study validates the effects of the person-centered group art therapy with theraplay program on improving the emotional and social adaptability of the institutionalized children. The emotional and social adaptability includes self-regulation, peer-relationship and school adjustment.
Forty-two children ranging from fourth-grade to sixth-grade from the three different institutionalized children in D city have been studied. Those children have been categorized into three groups of fourteen children for each: the first group for the person-centered group art therapy with theraplay program(the theraplay program group); the second group for the person-centered group art therapy without therapy program(the art therapy group); and the third group for no treatment(the control group). The children both in the theraplay program group and the art therapy group have been treated and monitored twice a week from June 4th to August 2nd of 2008, which comes down to eighteen sessions in total.
This study measures the self-regulation, peer-relationship, and school adjustment using the scales discussed in Jung-Kyung Huh(2003), Ju-Rhee Lee(1994), and Suk-Kyoung Jeong(2005), respectively. In order to identify the procedural change in the children’s emotional and social adaptability from the treatment programs, this study conducts and analyzes pre-test, post-test, and follow-up test. Using SAS 9.1.3, the data from the treatment groups, i.e., the theraplay program group and the art therapy group, have been analyzed by one-way ANOVA and repeated measurement of two-way ANOVA.
This study provides the following empirical evidences and findings. First, both the person-centered group art therapy with theraplay program and the person-centered group art therapy program turn out to be effective for the self-regulation and its sub-factors including cognitive self-regulation, motivational self-regulation and behavioral self-regulation. Compared with the person-centered group art therapy program, the person-centered group art therapy program with theraplay program is examined to have more intense effect on the self-regulation of the institutionalized children.
Second, both the person-centered group art therapy with theraplay program and the person-centered group art therapy program are identified to be effective for the peer-relationship and its sub-factors including emotional support, collective activities and reciprocal collaboration. Among the two programs, the person-centered group art therapy with theraplay program proves to be more effective for the peer-relationship overall. Both programs last their effects on the collective activities of the institutionalized children.
Third, both the person-centered group art therapy with theraplay program and the person-centered group art therapy program are effective for the school adjustment and its sub-factors including school teacher-related adjustment, school peer-related adjustment, school rule-related adjustment and scholastic adjustment. The person-centered group art therapy with theraplay program is more effective than the person-centered group art therapy program. Especially, the person-centered group art therapy with theraplay program lasts its effects on the school peer-related adjustment, school rule-related adjustment and school teacher-related adjustment of the institutionalized children, whilst the person-centered group art therapy program lasts its effects on the school rule-related adjustment and school peer-related adjustment of the institutionalized children.