Psychology and Behavioral Sciences

Special Issue

The Effect of Group Play Therapy in Reducing the Problematic Behavior of Children with Developmental Disabilities

  • Submission Deadline: 20 May 2020
  • Status: Submission Closed
  • Lead Guest Editor: Jun Ok Shin
About This Special Issue
The special issue aims to determine whether group play therapy can reduce problematic behavior in children with developmental disabilities. Five children with developmental disabilities who regularly visit day care centers in Gyeonggi-do Province were chosen as the target group. The therapy program was implemented 2 times a week, 40 minutes per session, to a total of 12 times during the months of January and February of 2017, making use of the winter vacation period. A post-inspection three months after the therapy program revealed the following results. First, preliminary inspections showed that behavioral characteristics such as aggression, intimidation, depression, and anxiety were present as common issues. Second, it was apparent that after the group play therapy sessions, problematic behaviors related to aggression, intimidation, depression, and anxiety have decreased significantly. These results confirm that group play therapy is an effective way to reduce problematic behavior in children with developmental disabilities. This presents practical implications in reducing the problematic behavior of people with developmental disabilities who make regular use of disabled welfare centers.
Aims and Scope:
  1. Children with developmental disabilities
  2. Problematic behavior
  3. Group play therapy
  4. Disabled day care centers
  5. Therapy program
  6. Behavioral characteristics
Lead Guest Editor
  • Jun Ok Shin

    Social Welfare, Sungkyul University, Anyang, South Korea

Guest Editors
  • Berhanu Dendena Sona

    Assistant Professor in Educational Psychology at Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg , South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa