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Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. 35 mm slides or 6" X 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Accessing theUMI World's Information since 1938 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA Order Number 8820259 A comparative study of parents and graduate students trained to conduct play therapy with mentally retarded children Bowling, Donald Walter, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, 1988 Copyright ©1989 by Bowling, Donald Walter. All rights reserved. UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 PLEASE NOTE: In all cases this material has been filmed in the best possible way from the available copy. Problems encountered with this document have been identified here with a check mark V 1. Glossy photographs or pages. 2. Colored illustrations, paper or print_______ 3. 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Other_________________________________________________________________________ UMI A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PARENTS AND GRADUATE STUDENTS TRAINED TO CONDUCT PLAY THERAPY WITH MENTALLY RETARDED CHILDREN DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Donald Walter Bowling, B.S., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1988 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Henry Leland, Ph.D. David Hammer, Ph.D. Aoviser Johannes Rojahn, Ph.D. Department of Psychology ©1989 DONALD WALTER BOWLING All Rights Reserved To my parents, Walter and Mary Kay, and to my daughter, Shelby 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express sincere appreciation to Dr. Henry Leland/ for his constructive ideas and guidance throughout the research. Special thanks to Dr. David Hammer, for his suggestions and comments. Gratitude is expressed to Dr. Johannes Rojahn, for his participation on my reading committee. The author is grateful to Dr. Jeri Briener for her technical assistances. Acknowledgement must also be given to Annick Parker, Angela Ray, Stephanie Wuebbens, Jo Remotigue, Audrey Bloom, and Susan McCarthy for their valuable assistances. Kitty Talley did the typing and proofreading. Finally, to my family and friends, I offer sincere thanks for your support and encouragement. Ill VITA March 28r 1952 .............. Born - Hamilton, Ohio 1976 B.S., Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Kentucky 1977 ......................... M.A., Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Kentucky 1977-1978 .................... Counselor, Talbert House, Cincinnati, Ohio 1978-1984 .................... Psychology Assistant, Orient Developmental Center, Orient, Ohio 1984 ......................... Psychology Assistant, Montgomery Developmental Center, Huber Heights, Ohio 1984-1986 .................... Psychology Assistant, Central Ohio Psychiatric Hospital, Columbus, Ohio 1986-Present ................ Psychology Associate, Georgia Retardation Center, Atlanta, Georgia FIELD OF STUDY Major Field; Psychology IV TABLE OP CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................... iii VITA ................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES ......................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES........................................ viii CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION .................................. 1 Statement of Problem .................... 6 Present Study ............................. 11 Statement of Experimental Questions .... 11 Definitions............................... 12 II. REVIEW OF THE L I T E R A T U R E ..................... 14 Historical Overview of P l a y .............. 14 Play Psychotherapy Approaches ............ 16 Parental Involvement in Play Psychotherapy ............................. 21 Play Psychotherapy with Mentally Retarded Children ....................... 27 Parents as Therapeutic Change Agents with Mentally Retarded Children ........ 42 III METHODOLOGY................................... 49 Sample Selection ......................... 49 S a m p l e ................................... 50 Dependent Variables ....................... 52 P r o c e d u r e s ............................... 54 IV. R E S U L T S ..........................................60 Analysis of Adaptive Behavior .............. 60 Analysis of Adult-Child Interactions . 64 Analysis of Parental Satisfaction with T r e a t m e n t ................................... 69 V. DISCUSSION....................................... 73 Adaptive Behavior ......................... 73 Adult-Child Interactions . .............. 75 Parental Satisfaction with Treatment .... 77 Review of Individual Play Therapy Goals . 78 Limitations and Implications .............. 83 S u m m a r y ................................. 88 Bibliography ......................................... 90 APPENDICES A. SAMPLE SELECTION ABS RATINGS ................... 100 B. CONSENT LETTER ......................... ....102 C. PARENT'S MARITAL STATUS ....................... 105 D. MOTHER'S A G E ................................. 107 E. FATHER'S A G E ................................. 109 F. MOTHER'S EDUCATIONAL LEVEL ..................... Ill G. FATHER'S EDUCATIONAL LEVEL ..................... 113 H. CODING MANUAL FOR SCORING ADULT-CHILD INTERACTION ................................. 115 I. PLAY THERAPY HANDOUT ................ ..... 149 J. PARENT CONSUMER SATISFACTION QUESTIONAIRE . 155 K. PRETREATMENT AND POSTTREATMENT ABS RATINGS . 158 VI LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. Demographic data for subject s a m p l e ...... 51 2. Prescored tape and interrater reliability . 59 3. Means and standard deviations for ABS by treatment g r o u p ...................... 62 4. ANOVA for adaptive behavior scale domains . 63 5. Mean scores and standard deviations for adult-child interactions ................ 66 6. ANOVA for adult-child interactions .......... 67 7. One-way analysis variance for parental satisfaction ................................... 71 8. Individual play therapy goals and progress . 80 Vll LIST OF FIGURES FIGURES PAGE 1. Time x's group interaction for adult questions..................................... 68 Vlll CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION When man evolved to walk erect, he no longer required the use of his hands for locomotion. Man's hands were free to perform such tasks as hunting and gathering, and provide protection for self and others. In order to retain the information gained through the manipulation of the environment, man's cognitive abilities increased; in turn, this allowed man to further increase his manipulation of the environment (Magoun, Darling, and Frost, 1960). Considering that the ontogeny recapitulates the phylogeny, development for children follows the same phylogenetic course. The hand-to-brain development for the child occurs during play (Leland and Smith, 1965). Play is a developmentally occurring behavior that is an essential part of the child's physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development. The importance of play for the child's growth and development is generally acknowledged (Leland, 1982; Bruner, Jolly, and Sylva, 1976; Millar, 1968; Vygotsky, 1967; Piaget, 1962). Play is thought to be the child's most consistent form of expression and communication, providing children with the 1 2 opportunity to test emotions while learning new skills. Children must be allowed the time to imitate, explore, find themselves, and test their ideas. The experiences the child derives through play are the foundation to language acquisition. These experiences during play also enable the child to assimilate the world, build confidence, and practice interpersonal relationships (Caplan and Caplan, 1973). Through interpersonal relationships, the individual gains the experiences necessary for the acquisition of coping strategies (Leland, 1978). For children, play is the medium to develop coping strategies. According to Piaget (1962), children attempt to cope with new experiences by imitating and mimicking