Effectiveness of Group Play Therapy in Generalized Anxiety Disorder of Children

Mojgan Karahmadi; Salimeh Jalali

IJ Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

IJPBS is the Official Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences

Current Issue All Issues In Press Accepted Manuscripts Search

Journal Information Editors & Boards Indexing and Listing Sources Journal Metrics Open Peer Review (OPR)Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement Reviewer and AE Registration Form Contact Us Support

APC

Authors Guide Submit Manuscript

Effectiveness of Group Play Therapy in Generalized Anxiety Disorder of Children

Author(s):

Mojgan Karahmadi^1,*,

Salimeh Jalali²

1Assistant Professor, Behavioral Sciences Research Center,Department of Psychiatry,School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

2Behavioral Sciences Research Center,Department of Psychiatry,School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

IJ Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences:Vol. 5, issue 1; 33-6

Published online:Jun 30, 2011

Article type:Research Article

Received:Aug 13, 2010

Accepted:Jan 25, 2011

How to Cite:Mojgan KarahmadiSalimeh JalaliEffectiveness of Group Play Therapy in Generalized Anxiety Disorder of Children.Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci.5(1):33-6.

Abstract

Objective: Anxiety is one of the most common psychiatric disorders and almost 30% of the primary school children are affected by various kinds of it. Group play therapy has been reported to be a useful component of treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The goal of this research was to determine the efficacy of this treatment in children with GAD.

Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 30 youths with GAD aged between 5 and 11 referred from Isfahan child psychiatric clinics were randomly assigned to two groups (15 patients in each group). Parents’ form of CSI-4 questionnaire, GAD subscale, was used to diagnose the problem of these children with the help of a child psychiatrist. Case group got 1-hour weekly sessions for three months while no intervention was done for control group (waiting list). Analysis of covariance was used to compare two groups.

Results: Analysis of covariance showed that group play therapy reduces GAD symptoms in posttest stage meaningfully (p=0.02). It also reduces GAD symptoms in follow up significantly (p<0.0001).

Conclusion: The results of this study shows that group play therapy can be an effective method for reducing GAD symptoms in posttest and follow up stage.

Declaration of Interest: None.

Citation: Karahmadi M, Jalali S. Effectiveness of group play therapy in generalized anxiety disorder of children. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences 2011; 5(1): 33-6

Keywords

Childhood

Generalized Anxiety

Group Play Therapy

Fulltext

Full text is available in the PDF.

References

1.
References are available in the PDF.

comments