Korean Journal of Child Studies : The Development of an Observation Scale to Facilitate a Valid and Reliable Analysis of the Responses of Child and Therapist in Child-Centered Play Therapy
Haeng Suk Lee , You Jin Han
Abstract
This study was conducted in order to develop an observation scale for analyzing the responses of child and therapist in child-centered play therapy in terms of item discrimination validity and reliability. The observation scale was developed on the basis of child-centered play therapy literature the author`s experience of child-centered play therapy the observation of video tapes of play therapy session and discussions with child-centered play therapy experts. The participants in this study were 54 children aged from 4 to 9 years old who have emotional and behavioral problems and 7 therapists who consult with the children. The reliability of factors as measured by inter-rater reliability and Cronbach`s` ranged from .72 to .77. The results of factor analysis indentified 2 factors and 21 items associated with the reponses of the children and 2 factors and 19 items associated with the responses of the therapists. The significant factors identified were as follows; (1) the child`s response style; (2) the child`s response content (adaptability initiation structuring flexibility); (3) the therapist`s response style and (4) the therapist`s response content (facilitative response structuring nonfacilitative response). In conclusion these results demonstrated that the observation scale provides a valid and reliable means of analyzing the responses of child and therapist in child-centered play therapy.
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