Effects of Play Therapy and Self-Disclosure Skill Training in the Management of Social Anxiety of Primary School Children in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines the effects of play therapy and self-disclosure training
in the management of social anxiety of primary school pupils in Ibadan,
Nigeria. It also examines the moderating effects of gender and parenting
style on social anxiety. The study adopts pretest-posttest, control group
experimental design with a 3x2x3 factorial matrix. Stratified random
sampling technique was used to select 142 participants from three public
primary schools in Ibadan North Local Governments Area in Ibadan.
The participants were randomly assigned to treatment and control
groups. Participants in the two treatment groups were exposed to eight
weeks of play therapy and self-disclosure training. Two instruments used
were: Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and Parenting Style Inventor.
Four hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Data were
analysed using Analysis of Covariance and MCA. The results show among
others that there is a significant main effect of treatment Play Therapy
(PT) and Self –Disclosure Skill Training (SDST) on social anxiety. Play
therapy was more effective in managing social anxiety than self-disclosure
training. Based on the results of the study, it is concluded that play therapy
and self-disclosure training group were effective in managing social
anxiety of socially anxious primary school children. Therefore, school
counselling psychologists should adopt the two interventions to manage
social anxiety among children.