The Effectiveness of Play Therapy on Children’s Aggression

Abstract of the Article on the Effectiveness of Play Therapy on Child Aggression

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of play therapy on child aggression. The research method was semi-experimental (pre-test/post-test) with a control and an experimental group. The statistical population of this study included children aged 6 to 8 years in Tehran in the second half of 1398. To this end, 30 children with an aggression disorder were selected and randomly assigned to two groups: experimental and control. The participants were assessed in both groups before the intervention and at the end of the intervention. The instrument used in this study was the CBCL test (Parent Form). The experimental group received group play therapy in 8 sessions, each lasting 60 minutes, held once per week. However, for the control group, no training was provided during the study period until the post-test was administered. After the experimental intervention, a post-test was administered to both groups. Covariance analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings showed that the mean scores for aggression in the play therapy training group decreased significantly in the post-test stage compared to the pre-test. Therefore, play therapy has an effect on child aggression.