Dramatic play in preschool children reduced peer bullying behaviors: A quasi-experimental study
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Published on: January 18, 2013
Devran Atalay Özkılıç1, Fatma Güdücü Tüfekci1
1Department of Child Health and Diseases Nursing, Atatürk University Faculty of Nursing, Erzurum, Turkey.
Aim:
This study aims to determine peer bullying behaviors and evaluate the effect of dramatic play in reducing these behaviors in preschool children.
Materials And Methods:
This study used a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design and involved 45 children at Bitlis Tatvan İbn-i Sina Kindergarten. Data were collected through the "Descriptive Information Form", the "Preschool Peer Bullying Scale - Teacher Form", and the "Bully and Victim Child Behaviors Assessment Form". The study included an intervention program lasting over 10 weeks and consisting of video animation presentations, implementation of five dramatic play scenarios, and reinforcement activities. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0 and the Shapiro-Wilk normality test, skewness and kurtosis values, percentages, means, and paired-samples t-test analyses.
Results:
Study findings showed that after the dramatic play intervention, children's peer bullying behaviors decreased significantly in the posttest compared to the pretest (p < 0.001). In addition, statistically significant decreases were observed in the bullying, victim, and passive bullying child behaviors subscales in the posttest compared to the pretest (p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
This study showed that a nursing intervention based on dramatic play administered in the preschool period was effective in reducing children's peer bullying behaviors and related subscales. The results underscore the importance of play-based interventions in early childhood for combating bullying.
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