This study was conducted to investigate the effect of horticultural therapy and its durability on the improvement of the anxiety and self-esteem of the mentally retarded student in special class of high school. Nineteen male subjects in special class ...
This study was conducted to investigate the effect of horticultural therapy and its durability on the improvement of the anxiety and self-esteem of the mentally retarded student in special class of high school. Nineteen male subjects in special class of K high school were selected and assigned into treatment group, while seventeen male subjects in special class of S high school were selected and assigned into control group. Programs for horticultural therapy were carried out for the mentally retarded of treatment group in the greenhouse for HT in Konkuk University and in the class room and outside places of K high school with two times per week from April 20 to Nov. 1, 2001.
In order to evaluate the effect of horticultural theray, self-esteem inventory and revised children's manifest anxiety scale were investigated totally 4 times by students before and after 1 session HT and before and after 2 session HT which was restarted with one month term after the termination of 1 session of HT.
When anxiety and self-esteem were compared between before and after 1 session of HT and 2 session of HT, respectively, there were significant improvements in both factors in treatment group, whereas there were no meaningful differences in control group. On the other hand, even though there was not meaningful differences during one month recess term between two sessions in treatment group, there was considerable improvement without no significance in both anxiety and self esteem when evaluations between before 1 session of HT and before 2 session of HT. Additionally, when evaluations between before and after 1 session of HT and evaluations between before 1 session of HT and after 2 session of HT were compared, it was found that the latter was much better in both factors than the former.
Therefore, it could be proved that horticultural therapy was one of very effective methods to reduce anxiety and to restore self-esteem of the metally retarded students in high school, and postulated that the durability of HT's effect increased as horticultural therapy programs were applied with a long term schedule.