The purpose of this study is to dec.ease problematic behaviors(aggression) and to improve self-esteem of a physically abused child through the play therapy with symbolic activities. Physically abused child may typically has low self-esteem, use aggressions as a major coping skill to the circumstances and the relationships, and has psychological distress such feelings as unsafe, anger, and fear of the abuser.
The specific research issues of this research are to figure out those things as:
1 The processes of the changes in child´s emotion and behaviors in play sessions.
2. The effect of play therapy on the problem behaviors of a physically abused child.
3. The effect of play therapy on the self-esteem of a physically abused child.
4. The effect of play therapy on the social skills of a physically abused child.
The play therapy sessions administered were total 41 sessions; the first phase was from one to six sessions, the second phase was from seven to thirty-four sessions, and the final phase was from thirty-five to forty-one sessions. Each session was fifty minutes.
The experimental design of this study was pre-, post-, and follow-up design and evaluated the features of changes using K-CBCL(Korean-Child Behavior Checklist),SPPC(Self-Perception Profile for Children), SSRS(Social Skill Rating Scale).
Symbolic activities used in Play therapy Process were as follows: Puppets, squiggle, collage, storytelling, garbage bag,´Feelings: Where are they in my body?´, role play, fairy tales, family toys, poetry, board games, body movements, and musical instruments.
The significant results were as follows:
1. The subject was aware of, expressed and integrated her emotions relating to the abused experiences. And she showed decreased aggressions and increased problem-solving capabilities in play sessions.
2. The scores of withdrawal and aggression scales in K-CBCL showed decrease.
3. The scores of Global Self-Worth, Social Acceptance, Behavioral Conduct scales in SPPC showed decrease.4. The scores of self-regulation scales in SSRS showed improvement.
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