The Effect Of Play Therapy On The Frustration And Hopelessness Of Children With Chronic Diseases

Background: Chronic illness separates children from their normal living environment and intermittent, and hospitalization causes them to feel frustrated and hopeless. Since playing has a significant role in reducing children s negative emotions, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of play therapy on the frustration and hopelessness of children with chronic diseases. Methods: His is a semi-experimental study with two control and intervention groups, which was conducted in 2020. A total of 60 children with chronic diseases hospitalized in 6 departments of Children s Medical Center in Tehran were selected by convenience sampling method to participate in this study based on the entry criteria (n=30 in the intervention and n=30 people in the control group). A demographic information form and Kazdin s hopelessness scale in children (HSC) were used to collect the data, and SPSS software version 16 was used to analyze the collected data. Results: The findings of this study indicated that the play therapy had a significant effect on the hopelessness of children in the intervention group, so that their mean score of hopelessness after the intervention was much lower compared to before intervention (P-value). The effect size of this intervention on the children hopelessness was 0.215, which is higher than 0.08, indicating the effectiveness of intervention. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that playing has a positive effect on the level of frustration of children with chronic diseases. Therefore, playing is recommended to reduce frustration and improve mental health of children with chronic diseases.