Medical Journal of Mashhad university of Medical Sciences

Medical Journal of Mashhad university of Medical Sciences

The effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral play therapy on school anxiety and shyness in students with learning disabilities

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Sara Maleki 1
Zahra MohammadiNia 1
Neda MohammadiNia 2
Saeedeh Fattahi 3
1 Department of Educational Psychology, Medical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Psychology, Saveh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Saveh, Iran
3 Department of Educational Psychology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
10.22038/mjms.2020.18094
Abstract
Introduction: Studies show the effect of learning disability on school anxiety and students' shyness. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral play therapy on school anxiety and shyness in students with learning disabilities.
Methods: In this study, quasi-experimental method and pre-test and post-test design with control group were used. The statistical population of this study included fourth and fifth grade male and female students of elementary school in Tehran who have math learning disabilities and have been referred to learning disability rehabilitation centers. From this population, 30 people were purposefully selected and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups (15 each). School Anxiety Inventory (Phillips, 1978) and Shyness Questionnaire (Cruiser, 1995) were the research tools. The research findings were finally analyzed using SPSS software version 23 and covariance test at the level of 0.05.
Results: Descriptive findings showed that the scores of the experimental group compared to the scores of the control group had a significant decrease in both school anxiety and shyness. The result of analysis of covariance showed that after removing the pre-test effect, the mean post-test scores of the two groups had a statistically significant difference (p <0.001).
Conclusion: According to the results, this study shows that cognitive-behavioral play therapy has a positive effect on reducing school anxiety and shyness in students with learning disabilities.
Keywords
Cognitive-behavioral play therapy
school anxiety
shyness
learning disability
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Medical Journal of Mashhad university of Medical Sciences
Volume 63, Issue 5
January and February 2021
Pages 2914-2923