An interventional study of Structured Play Activity in Preschool Children in Psychological Resilience, sponsored by Cumhuriyet University. Completed at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Open to participants aged 3 Years to 6 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-21.
Sponsored by Cumhuriyet University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
The aim of this study was to reduce the aggression levels of preschool children and to improve their social emotional well-being and psychological resilience through a structured therapeutic play program. The study was conducted as a randomised experimental research with pretest-posttest control group. The total sample consisted of 68 children, 34 in the intervention group and 34 in the control group. Data were collected with an information form, the Aggression Orientation Scale for Children and the Social Emotional Well-Being and Psychological Resilience Scale for Preschool Children. The intervention group participated in seven structured therapeutic play program group sessions.
The structured therapeutic play program consisted of seven sessions delivered over seven consecutive weeks, with one session per week. The intervention incorporated emotion expression activities, drawing, free play, symbolic play, creative activities, and music-based rhythmic games. The sessions were designed to facilitate emotional expression, support social-emotional well-being, promote psychological resilience, and reduce aggressive behaviors in preschool children.
Session 1 - Emotion Expression Game:Children used emotion cards to describe situations in which they experienced anger toward their parents. The session aimed to establish a therapeutic relationship, facilitate emotion recognition, and encourage emotional expression.
Session 2 - Drawing Activity: Children created drawings of their choice with the researcher and described their drawings. The researcher used a mirroring technique to facilitate emotional awareness and expression.
Session 3 - Child-Directed Free Play: Children brought their favorite toys and selected their preferred play activities. The session aimed to support children's autonomy and sense of being valued.
Session 4 - Baby Care Game: Children participated in a symbolic play activity involving caring for a baby doll. The activity provided opportunities to explore caregiving behaviors, self-care experiences, and perceptions of parental interactions.
Session 5 - Paper Shape-Making Activity: Children created paper shapes with guidance from the researcher. The session aimed to support creativity and psychological resilience.
Session 6 - Music and Rhythmic Play: Children participated in rhythmic games accompanied by music. The activity aimed to support psychological well-being and emotional regulation.
Session 7 - Emotion Expression and Coping Strategies: Children used emotion cards to describe their responses to anger-provoking situations involving their parents and to explore alternative ways of expressing their emotions. The session aimed to encourage appropriate emotional expression and constructive coping strategies.
Cumhuriyet University is the lead sponsor of 131 studies on the registry; 25 are open to participants now.
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-Being in the 4-6 age group.
Exclusion Criteria:
The average time to complete the questionnaires was 20-25 minutes. In the pre-test, the parents of the children completed the Personal Information Form and the Aggression Orientation Scale for Children Aged 36-72 Months, while the teachers completed the Social-Emotional Well-Being and Psychological Resilience Scale for Preschool Children. Since the children involved in the study were from three different classrooms, the scales were administered by three different teachers. The post-test data for the intervention and control groups were collected by the researcher in a suitable classroom at the preschool one month after the completion of the program. In the post-test, the parents of the children completed the Aggression Orientation Scale for Children Aged 36-72 Months, while the teachers completed the Social-Emotional Well-Being and Psychological Resilience Scale for Preschool Children.
Behavioral: Structured Play Activity in Preschool Children
no intervention
2.1.Study Design: The study is a randomised experimental quantitative study with a pre-test-post-test control group. 2.2.Participants and settings This study was conducted in a kindergarten selected by lottery among the kindergartens in a province in the east of Turkey. The study population consisted of a total of 202 children enrolled in the kindergarten. The sample size was calculated in G\*Power 3.1.9.2 analysis program (Faul et al., 2007). Since there were no studies on these variables on the subject, taking into account the effect size of 0.80 in Cohen's effect size classification (Keskin 2020), the sample of the study was determined as a total of 68 children, 34 intervention group and 34 control group, with 90% power and 5% margin of error. 2.3.Randomization In order to reduce selection bias and control variables that may have an effect on the outcome variables, the experimental and control groups were assigned by a statistician other than the researchers by simple randomisation
Change in Aggression Tendency Scale for 36-72-Month-Old Children Total Score
Aggressive behavior was assessed using the parent-rated Aggression Tendency Scale for 36-72-Month-Old Children, developed by Kaynak et al. (2016). The scale contains 27 items rated on a 7-point Likert scale and assesses physical aggression toward others, relational aggression toward others, aggression toward self, and aggression toward objects. The total score is calculated by summing the item scores. Higher scores indicate greater aggression. The outcome is the change in the total score from baseline to follow-up.
Time frame: Baseline (before intervention) and follow-up (one month after completion of the 7-week intervention; approximately Week 11)
Change in Social Emotional Well-Being and Psychological Resilience Scale for Preschool Children (PERIK) Total Score
Social-emotional well-being and psychological resilience were assessed using the teacher-rated Social Emotional Well-Being and Psychological Resilience Scale for Preschool Children (PERIK), adapted into Turkish by Ozbey (2019). The scale consists of 36 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale and includes six subscales. The total score is calculated by summing the item scores. The outcome is the change in the PERIK total score from baseline to follow-up.
Time frame: Baseline (before intervention) and follow-up (one month after completion of the 7-week intervention; approximately Week 11)
Plan to share: Yes
Supporting information: Statistical analysis plan
Ran from Oct 2023 to primary completion in May 2024, 7 months.
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