| The study pursued the following question: How does prescribed family play affect the cohesiveness of nonabusive families presenting for family therapy because of intergenerational family conflict? The participants included families involved in family therapy utilizing Multisystemic Therapy (MST) or an equivalent intense in-home therapy model. Those families who volunteered to participate in the study when presented with the option were randomly assigned to either a treatment group or a comparison group. Utilizing a pretest and posttest format, the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale third edition (FACES III) was used to assess the family cohesion of participating families. A t test analysis was utilized to determine the significance of any differences in the level of family cohesion in the two groups. It was expected that the null hypothesis (i.e., that there is no significant difference in family cohesion between families who have completed a play intervention as compared to families who have not received a play intervention) would be rejected. Actual statistical results showed that the null hypothesis should not be rejected. |
