The study examines the efficacy of using a multi-cultural family support program designed to enhance mother-child interactions using Theraplay with children having difficulty with both mother and peer relationships. Four mother-child dyads participate...
The study examines the efficacy of using a multi-cultural family support program designed to enhance mother-child interactions using Theraplay with children having difficulty with both mother and peer relationships. Four mother-child dyads participated in a program consisting of center- and home-based Theraplay activities and parental education for 60 to 80 minutes per week for 15 weeks. The Child-Mother Rating Scale for mother-child relationships and the Social Interaction Behavior Observation Sheet for child-peer relationships were applied 12 and 4 times respectively from the pre- to the maintaining period-test. The results of this study show that, while there are individual differences in terms of the levels of change, the program did enhance the children`s relationships with their mothers and peers overall. Finally, the implications and methodology for developing multi-cultural family support programs are discussed.