Comparing the Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy and Resilience-Based Play Therapy on Anxiety in Children Aged ۶ to ۸ Undergoing Dental Treatment.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral play therapy and resilience-based play therapy on anxiety in ۶-۸-year-old children undergoing dental treatment. Methods: The present study was semi-experimental with pre-test and post-test designs with a control group and a month follow-up period. All ۶-۸-year-old children were referred to specialized dental clinics in Isfahan in the first six months of ۲۰۲۲. A sample of ۴۵ children was selected by purposive sampling according to the inclusion criteria and randomly assigned into three equal groups of ۱۵ people. Data collection was done by the Enhanced Children's Anxiety Questionnaire-Short Form (Ahlen et al., ۲۰۱۸). Cognitive-behavioral play therapy sessions based on Hall, Cadoson, and Schaffer protocol (۲۰۰۲) and play therapy sessions based on resilience based on Nikneshan et al. protocol (۲۰۱۹) were performed for eight sessions (one session per week) and ۶۰ minutes per session for experimental group subjects. However, the control group did not receive these programs. Descriptive statistics and mixed analysis of variance by SPSS-۲۶ software analyzed data. Results: The results showed that therapeutic interventions (cognitive-behavioral and resilience-based play therapy) compared to the control group were significantly effective in improving anxiety scores and emotional expressiveness. Also, the results of the Bonferroni post hoc test showed that despite the effectiveness of two play therapy methods on dependent variables, cognitive-behavioral play therapy compared with play therapy based on resilience on reducing anxiety scores of children undergoing dental treatment (P<۰.۰۱). Conclusion: These findings further clarify the role of play therapy in children undergoing dental treatment and reveal the necessity of using therapeutic approaches derived from the cognitive-behavioral approach to modulate these children's symptoms.Objective: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral play therapy and resilience-based play therapy on anxiety in ۶-۸-year-old children undergoing dental treatment. Methods: The present study was semi-experimental with pre-test and post-test designs with a control group and a month follow-up period. All ۶-۸-year-old children were referred to specialized dental clinics in Isfahan in the first six months of ۲۰۲۲. A sample of ۴۵ children was selected by purposive sampling according to the inclusion criteria and randomly assigned into three equal groups of ۱۵ people. Data collection was done by the Enhanced Children's Anxiety Questionnaire-Short Form (Ahlen et al., ۲۰۱۸). Cognitive-behavioral play therapy sessions based on Hall, Cadoson, and Schaffer protocol (۲۰۰۲) and play therapy sessions based on resilience based on Nikneshan et al. protocol (۲۰۱۹) were performed for eight sessions (one session per week) and ۶۰ minutes per session for experimental group subjects. However, the control group did not receive these programs. Descriptive statistics and mixed analysis of variance by SPSS-۲۶ software analyzed data. Results: The results showed that therapeutic interventions (cognitive-behavioral and resilience-based play therapy) compared to the control group were significantly effective in improving anxiety scores and emotional expressiveness. Also, the results of the Bonferroni post hoc test showed that despite the effectiveness of two play therapy methods on dependent variables, cognitive-behavioral play therapy compared with play therapy based on resilience on reducing anxiety scores of children undergoing dental treatment (P<۰.۰۱). Conclusion: These findings further clarify the role of play therapy in children undergoing dental treatment and reveal the necessity of using therapeutic approaches derived from the cognitive-behavioral approach to modulate these children's symptoms.