Introduction:The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of individual and group play therapy on interpersonal interaction, attention span, behavioral control and emotional control, in pre-school children.
Methods: The statistical population of the study was all pre-schoolchildren of Isfahan City in 2016 among whom 39 children selected by multistage cluster sampling and assigned randomly to individual play therapy (n=13), group play therapy (n=13) and control group (n=13). For the two experimental groups, 10 weekly intervention sessions were held, but the control group received no intervention. Interpersonal interaction questionnaire, distraction scale, attention span scale, behavioral control scale and emotional control scale were responded by the children's parents as the instruments of the study in pre-test and post-test stages. Data were analyzed by MANCOVA and L.S.D.
Findings: The results showed that individual play therapy has been effective on, attention range and emotional control. Also, group play therapy has had significant effects on all dependent variables (p<0/001). Moreover, the results showed that group play therapy has been more effective on interpersonal interaction and behavioral control than individual play therapy (p<0/001).
Conclusion: Based on the results of the study, both individual and group play therapy have considerable effects on children' cognitive and behavioral problems, but the rate and range of group play therapy are more than individual play therapy