Research Paper: The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Play Therapy on Externalizing Behavior Problems Among Street and Working Children Journal Article

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral play therapy on externalizing behavior problems among street and working children. Methods: This experimental study was conducted with a pre- and posttest control group design. The statistical population of this study included girls aged 7-10 years who had been identified by the social workers working in Kiana Sociocultural Group Center in the city of Karaj in order to study, participate in educational programs, and also receive the relevant services. To this end, 40 of the girls who scored 63 or above from the Teacher’s Report Form (TRF) were randomly selected and assigned to intervention and control groups. Then, the intervention group was divided into 4 groups of 5 girls who participated in a cognitive-behavioral play therapy program for 12 one-hour sessions lasting 2 sessions per week. Following the intervention, teachers once again filled out the Achenbach’s Teacher Report Form (TRF) for both intervention and control groups, and finally, the data were analyzed. Results: The findings revealed that reduction in externalizing behavior problems among children such as aggression and law-breaking behavior in the intervention group compared with those in the control group was significant (P<0.01). Discussion: It seems that one of the effective ways to lessen externalizing behavior problems among street and working children is cognitive-behavioral play therapy; therefore, coaches and teachers of such children are recommended to make use of this method to lower their behavioral problems.

Study by Ghasemzadeh (2003) on street and working children in Iran showed that the amount of externalizing behavior problems such as aggression and violence was equal to 80%, willingness to commit delinquency was 55%, inattention to rights of others was equal to 54%, revenge and hostility was about 58%, and addiction was equal to 37%. Within this play therapy approach, inconsistent I ranian Rehabilitation Journal thoughts associated with behavioral problems in children are identified and then changed. Furthermore, vari- ous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of cog- nitive-behavioral play therapy on externalizing problems such as social maladjustment [18], oppositional defiance, and aggression [19] among children. Previous stud- ies investigating the impact of cognitive-behavioral play therapy have not shed any light on externalizing behav- ior problems among street children. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive- behavioral play therapy on externalizing behavior prob- lems among street and working children. According to the eta squared, it was revealed that 80% of the changes in the externalizing problems among children were due to participating in cognitive-behavioral play therapy sessions. 4. Discussion The present study suggested that cognitive-behavior- al play therapy was effective in reducing externalizing behavior problems among street and working children aged 7-10 years. In this study, 16 sessions of play therapy were held for 10 children who had received high scores from the TRF and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Moreover; in a case study by Paone and Douma (2008), the effectiveness of play therapy on behavioral problems in children aged 7 years and suffering from intermittent explosive disorder were investigated.