Effect of Play Therapy on Social Development: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: The early years of life are vital and sensitive for the growth and development of a child. This aimed to examine the effect of play therapy on the social development and maturity of infants aged from 12 to 24 months.

Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial conducted on 76 eligible infants aged from 12 to 24 months referred to comprehensive health centers in Kashan city during 2017-2018. Infants who had inclusion criteria were included in the study and then randomly assigned to the two groups of intervention and control. Before the intervention and the end of the counseling sessions, Vineland Social Maturity Test Toolkit for Children in the both groups was completed and the data were analyzed using SPSS software.

Results: There was no significant differences between the two groups regarding the social development score before the intervention (p >0.001). There was a significant difference between the mean score of social development in the two groups after the intervention, in which the mean of the total score and each area of social development increased significantly (P <0.001).

Conclusion: Considering the importance of the early years of life in the development of infants and findings of the present study, it can be said that the advisory of play therapy for improving the development of a infants can be very helpful.