| The main objective of the study was to determine whether a Cognitive Behavioral Play Intervention would be effective at enhancing hope and increasing adjustment to school in preschool aged children. The Cognitive Behavioral Play Intervention was developed based on Knell's (1993 1998) Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy and Snyder, et. al.'s (1997) conceptualization of hope in children. Forty-eight children were randomly assigned to three conditions: a Cognitive Behavioral Play Intervention, a free play control condition or a puzzles/coloring control condition. It was hypothesized that the CBP Intervention group would have significantly higher hope and greater school adjustment than the control groups. A multi-method/multi-informant approach was used to assess children's hope, perceived competence, problem solving ability, school liking, social competence, anxiety-withdrawal, and play processes at baseline and outcome. The major results of the study were that the CBP Intervention group, as compared to the puzzles/coloring control group, had significantly higher hope, higher social competence, and less anxiety-withdrawal symptoms, according to teacher report. There was a trend which indicated that both the CBP Intervention group and the free play control group had more positive feelings about school than the puzzles/coloring control group, according to teacher report. This was the first intervention to increase preschool children's hope and the first study to provide empirical support for cognitive behavioral play strategies. |
