This study conducted a Filial Therapy program using physical contact play for mothers from multicultural families who have children in their infancy state. By inducing those mothers from multicultural families who have difficulty in communicating with...
This study conducted a Filial Therapy program using physical contact play for mothers from multicultural families who have children in their infancy state. By inducing those mothers from multicultural families who have difficulty in communicating with and therefore interacting with their children due to language problems to obtain how to do physical contact play, this study aims to verify its effect on improving interaction between such mothers and their children and those children's self-esteem.
In accordance with the above research purposes, the following research issues were established.
1. Can participation in a Filial Therapy program using physical contact play increase interaction between mothers and children from multicultural families?
2. Can participation in a Filial Therapy program using physical contact play increase self-esteem of children in their infancy state from multicultural families?
3. What changes are made to participants in a Filial Therapy program using physical contact play?
This study applied a Filial Therapy, which was developed by Guerney (1964) using Brody's (1978) Developmental play Therapy and modified by Jang Mi-gyeong (1998) in its content and term, to mothers from multicultural families, thereby verifying its effect on interaction between them and their children and self-esteem of the children in their infancy state. Request was made to centers for multicultural families in cities A and S, Gyeonggi-do in order to organize groups to participate in the program. The participants were divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group was subdivided into two groups A and B, with each group's number of members at four; the control group's number of members was eight. Both the experimental group and the control group had meetings eight times over eight weeks. In order to analyze the results of the program, SPSS 19.0 program was used and an independent comparative analysis was made by Mann-Whitney test, a nonparametric statistical method. Furthermore, for qualitative analysis the whole process of the program was recorded by video and changes reported by the mothers while participating the program were arranged according to the research issues' sub-variables.
This research's results are summarized as follows.
First, the post-test score of interaction between mothers and children from the experimental group was significantly higher than that between mothers and children from the control group after the Filial Therapy using physical contact play was applied to the mothers from multicultural families. This shows that the Filial Therapy program using physical contact play for mothers from multicultural families positively enhanced their children-rearing behaviors, child observation, and expression of affection in interaction between mothers and their children.
Second, the post-test score of self-esteem of children in their infancy state whose mothers took part in the Filial Therapy using physical contact play was positively increased. This shows that the mothers who partook in the filial therapy using physical contact play properly expressed their love through affectionate interaction with their children, which in turn made the children feel they were loved and evaluate themselves positively, resulting in positive increase in their self-esteem.
Third, mothers from multicultural families who took part in the Filial Therapy using physical contact play reported that their participation had positive effect. This shows that qualitative analysis of changes by each sub-variable over the course of eight sessions based on the participants' reports resulted in enhanced interaction between the mothers and their children and improved self-esteem of the children.
The above results mean that a Filial Therapy using physical contact play for mothers from multicultural families is effective in improving interaction between the mothers and their children and self-esteem of children in their infancy state.