Therapeutic Play and Its Effect on Children's Psychosocial Well-Being

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Therapeutic Play; Psychosocial Well-being; Nursing Care

• Registration Number: NCT06845111
• Lead Sponsor: Kocaeli University

Brief Summary

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Therapeutic Play-Based Intervention Programme (TOTEM), which was developed to reduce the negative psychosocial effects of the earthquake in children aged 4-6 years, and its effect on children's psychosocial well-being.

Detailed Description

Earthquakes are among the most impressive geological processes and are defined as an unpredictable natural disaster due to their destructive effects on people and structures. In Turkey, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake occurred on 6 February 2023 at 04.17 local time, centred in Kahramanmaraş, and another 7.6-magnitude earthquake occurred about nine hours later. In addition, more than 1000 aftershocks were recorded in the region and these events further increased the scale of the disaster. Earthquakes have the potential to have profound and traumatic effects on people's psychological functioning. Children are particularly affected by these effects due to their vulnerability during natural disasters. Children who experience disasters may face various problems in physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development.

Therapeutic play intervention is based on the belief that play is a universal language that allows children to easily express their feelings and thoughts. This approach is an effective strategy that helps the child to explore their problems, seek solutions, express their feelings and emotional regulation. It also promotes cognitive development, reduces anxiety and stress, and increases confidence.

Providing appropriate support to children after a traumatic event such as an earthquake is critical for preventing future psychological problems. In this context, providing children with supportive approaches such as play therapy and conducting these methods by expert teams can contribute to children's well-being. Therapeutic games play an important role by providing a universal language for children to express their emotions and cope with stress.

Study Timeline

• Status Verified: 2024-05
• Study Start: 2024-05-01
• Primary Completion: 2024-09-01
• Study Completion: 2024-12-01
• Study First Submitted: 2025-02-20
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-02-20
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-02-20
• Study First Posted: 2025-02-25
• Last Update Posted: 2025-02-25

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 53

Inclusion Criteria

• Being between the ages of 4-6
• Having literate parents
• Having adequate Turkish receptive-expressive language skills
• Not having a previously diagnosed psychiatric problem declared by the parents
• Not having participated in a training programme on psychosocial well-being before
• Not attending any pre-school education institution at the time of the training
• Volunteering to participate in the study by themselves and their parents

Exclusion Criteria

• The participant wants to leave the study
• The participant has not participated in one or more of the trainings to be given within the scope of the programme
• The participant shows any diagnosed atypical development
• Children who show a level of resistance that disrupts their adaptation to normal life in pre-tests, during the study or in post-tests, children with anxiety disorder or other psychiatric problems

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Anxiety Scale in Preschool Children	A total of 3 evaluations will be made: before the programme starts, the post-test immediately after the end of the programme and the retention test at the end of the first month.	The Anxiety Scale in Preschool Children (Spence et al., 2001) developed by Spence, Rapee, McDonald, Ingram (2001) was adapted into Turkish by Şahin (2020). While the original scale had 28 items measuring social anxiety, separation anxiety, fear of physical injury, general anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, Şahin added 5 items related to post-traumatic stress disorder while adapting it to Turkish and validity and reliability studies were conducted with these items. The scale is a 5-point scale and each item is scored between 0 and 4. A total score can be obtained from the scale. A high score on the scale indicates that anxiety in preschool children is high, while a low score indicates that anxiety in preschool children is low. Within the scope of the reliability of the scale, Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was calculated as 0.93 (Şahin, 2020). For this study, Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was calculated as 0.91.
Psychosocial Status Assessment Scale for 3-6 Year Old Children (Parent Form)	A total of 3 evaluations will be made: before the programme starts, the post-test immediately after the end of the programme and the retention test at the end of the first month.	Psychosocial Situation Rating Scale (PSRS) was developed by Güneş-Şan and Altay and is a measurement tool consisting of 31 items that measures Psychosocial Situation Rating based on parental report in children aged 3-6 years. For each item in the PSDD, there are 5-point Likert type options 0-'never', 1-'rarely', 2-'sometimes', 3-"often", 4-'always'. Based on the score given for each item, a minimum score of '0' and a maximum score of '124' can be obtained from the questionnaire. A low total score indicates that there is no risk for psychosocial problems in the child, while a high score indicates that there is a risk for psychosocial problems. Within the scope of the reliability of the scale, Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was calculated as 0.83 and test-retest reliability was calculated as 0.957 (Güneş-Şan \& Altay, 2021). For this study, Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was calculated as 0.88.
Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children	A total of 3 evaluations will be made: before the programme starts, the post-test immediately after the end of the programme and the retention test at the end of the first month.	The scale developed by Bruni et al. (1996) was adapted into Turkish and the validity and reliability study was conducted by Ağça-Bilmenoğlu (2019). The scale developed to investigate sleep disorders in children consists of 26 items and each question is scored between 1-5. The measurement tool includes questions measuring sleep initiation and maintenance problems, sleep breathing disorders, sleep-wake disorders, sleep-wake transition disorders, excessive sleepiness disorders and excessive sweating during sleep. The scores that can be obtained from the scale vary between 26 and 130, and high scores are interpreted as a high degree of sleep disorder. Within the scope of the reliability of the scale, Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was calculated as 0.84 and test-retest reliability as 0.79 (Ağça-Bilmenoğlu, 2019). For this study, Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was calculated as 0.85.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Kocaeli University; 🇹🇷 Kocaeli, Izmit, Turkey