Short-term child-centered play therapy for school-aged Filipino boys with externalizing problem behaviors.

Abstract

The present study examined the impact of child-centered play therapy (CCPT) for schoolaged children who present with externalizing problem behaviors. Twenty-three participants were given eight weekly individual sessions. For each participant, a parent accomplished the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and a teacher accomplished the Teacher Rating Form (TRF) at three timepoints: pretherapy, posttherapy, and 1 month follow-up. Separate repeated measures analysis of variances performed on these outcomes revealed significant differences across timepoints for the CBCL and TRF Externalizing Problems scale and its two subscales (Rule-Breaking and Aggressive Behaviors). A large effect size was obtained from such analyses, which indicate much improvement in behaviors in school and at home. There appears to be improvement in behaviors of the children who underwent short-term CCPT, as shown by the shift from clinical levels of problem behaviors to a normative level of functioning. Such improvements likewise lasted even a month after the intervention was administered.