Impact of Child-Centered Play Therapy on Children of Different ...

IMPACT OF CHILD-CENTERED PLAY THERAPY ON CHILDREN OF DIFFERENT

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES

Jennifer L. Dougherty, M.S.

Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

May 2006

APPROVED:

Dee Ray, Major Professor

Cynthia Chandler, Committee Member

Casey Barrio, Committee Member

Carolyn Kern, Coordinator of Counseling

Program

Ron Newsom, Interim Chair of the

Department of Counseling,

Development, and Higher Education

M. Jean Keller, Dean of the College of

Education

Sandra L. Terrell, Dean of the Robert B.

Toulouse School of Graduate Studies

Dougherty, Jennifer L., Impact of Child-Centered Play Therapy on Children of

Different Developmental Stages. Doctor of Philosophy (Counselor Education), May

2006, 119 p., 20 tables, 3 figures, references, 65 titles.

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of child-centered play

therapy on children of Piaget¡¯s preoperational and concrete operations developmental

stages. Piaget¡¯s assertions about the contributions of play to cognitive, affective, and

social development have provided a basis for the theoretical rationale for the use of play

as a therapeutic intervention. The impact of child-centered play therapy was measured

by a decrease in parent-child relationship stress as measured by scores on the Child

Domain, Parent Domain, and Total Stress Score of the Parenting Stress Index. This

study utilized a three wave repeated measures ANOVA design to analyze the impact of

child-centered play therapy on children between the ages of 3-8 who received 19-23

individual child-centered play therapy sessions. A pretest, approximate midpoint, and

posttest administration was collected for use in the analysis.

The population study comprised 24 children referred to the Child and Family

Resource Clinic on the University of North Texas campus. Participating children were

divided into two treatment groups based on their age at the time of treatment. The

preoperational development treatment group consisted of 12 children aged of 3-6 years

and the concrete operations development treatment group consisted of children aged 78 years. Nine hypotheses were tested using three wave repeated measures ANOVA

and eta squared. The results of this study tentatively support the impact of childcentered play therapy with children of both the preoperational and concrete operations

developmental stages. The data indicates a statistically significant difference in the

impact of child-centered play therapy for children of different developmental stages.

Copyright 2006

by

Jennifer L. Dougherty

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This dissertation process would not be complete without acknowledging the

assistance of the many individuals who contributed extensive time, energy, and support.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to those who supported

me and encouraged me throughout this experience.

My heartfelt appreciation is extended to my major professor, Dr. Dee Ray.

Without your knowledge and enthusiasm for working with children I would have been

unable to successfully complete this project. The integrity you maintain and dedication

with which you apply yourself to promoting counseling and play therapy through

educating students, conducting research, supervising counselors, and chairing

dissertations has earned my unending respect. Thank you.

My committee members, Dr. Cindy Chandler and Dr. Casey Barrio, provided me

with recommendations for strengthening my study and encouragement to continue

through this process. Dr. Barrio, thank you for the time and energy you committed to

assisting me in producing my very best final project. Dr. Chandler, your knowledge of

research and design was invaluable.

I cannot conclude without recognizing the contributions and sacrifices of my

family and friends. First my husband Adam for making the most significant sacrifice of

time and providing me endless encouragement. Thank you for proofing my document

and listening to my feelings of concern and excitement throughout this process. Without

you this would not have been fun or possible. Also, sincere appreciation is extended to

my mother, father, sister and father-in-law. Thank you for your continued interest and

encouragement. I am richly blessed by your involvement in my life.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................iii

LIST OF TABLES ..........................................................................................................vi

LIST OF FIGURES...................................................................................................... viii

Chapters

I.

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 1

Statement of the Problem ............................................................. 5

Purpose of the Study..................................................................... 6

Review of the Literature ............................................................... 7

Summary..................................................................................... 25

II.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES .......................................................... 27

Hypotheses ................................................................................. 27

Definition of Terms ...................................................................... 30

Instrumentation ........................................................................... 31

Participant Selection ................................................................... 36

Data Collection............................................................................ 39

Treatment.................................................................................... 40

Data Analysis .............................................................................. 42

III.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .............................................................. 47

Results ........................................................................................ 47

Post Hoc Clinical Significance Analysis ...................................... 66

Discussion................................................................................... 68

Implications ................................................................................. 87

Limitations or the Study............................................................... 90

Recommendations for Future Research ..................................... 92

Conclusion .................................................................................. 93

Appendices

A.

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICE AND INFORMED CONSENT ........ 97

iv

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download