The effects of Group Theraplay on emotional and behavioral problems, social competence, and self-regulation skills in preschool children

This study aims to examine the effects of Group Theraplay on emotional and behavioral problems, social competence levels, and self-regulation skills in preschool children. The research was conducted with children aged 4–5 attending municipal daycare centers. At the beginning of the study, there were 60 children in the intervention group and 52 in the control group. Following evaluation according to exclusion criteria, 49 children from the intervention group and 45 from the control group were included in the analyses. The intervention group received a 10-session Group Theraplay, while no intervention was applied to the control group. Data were collected through teacher and parent forms using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Scale (SCBE-30), and the Self-Regulation Scale for Children Aged 4–6. Additionally, to more comprehensively assess changes in positive and negative behaviors of children in the intervention group, the Children's Development Assessment Form for Group Theraplay was completed by the researcher. Dependent and independent sample t-tests and normalized gain score calculations were used in the analyses. At the start of the study, according to teacher data, significant pretest differences between intervention and control groups were found in the subscales of Strengths and Difficulties, Inattention/Hyperactivity, Emotional Problems, Social Behaviors, Self-Regulation, Attention, Working Memory, Inhibitory Control, and Social Competence. According to parent data, significant pretest differences were found in Self-Regulation, Attention, Working Memory, and Inhibitory Control subscales. Therefore, normalized gain score calculations were conducted to control for baseline differences and more accurately evaluate the intervention effect. According to teacher data, significant differences were found both between pretest and posttest scores within the intervention group and between intervention and control groups at posttest in the subscales of Strengths and Difficulties, Emotional Problems, Inattention/Hyperactivity, Self-Regulation, Attention, and Inhibitory Control. In the Behavioral Problems subscale, a significant difference was found only in the posttest group comparison. At posttest, significant differences were found between the groups on the Social Behavior subscale. Although both groups showed significant improvements, the control group's increase was greater than that of the intervention group. According to parent data, significant improvements were found only in the intervention group in the subscales of Strengths and Difficulties, Attention, Inattention/Hyperactivity, Self-Regulation, and Inhibitory Control. Additionally, some sociodemographic factors such as age, gender, parental education, mother's employment status, and socioeconomic level were found to have significant effects on certain variables. The findings suggest that Group Theraplay may be an effective intervention method for supporting executive functions and reducing various emotional and behavioral difficulties in preschool children.