The Effectiveness of Drama Therapy on Social Skills and Shyness of 9–11-Year-Old Girls in Marivan City

Social skills can increase a person's ability to communicate properly with others and play a role in reducing shyness and its components. The purpose of this study was the effectiveness of drama therapy on social skills and shyness of 9–11-year-old girls in Marivan.

The present study was a quasi-experimental with pre-test-post-test design and control group. The study population consisted of all 9–11-year-old girls in 22 Bahman Marivan school in the 2018-2017 academic year. By available sampling, 30 students were selected and randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group. The Matson (1983) and Stanford Shyness (1997) Social Skills Questionnaire were used to collect data. For the experimental group, 10 90-minute sessions of therapeutic intervention were performed twice a week, but the control group did not receive any intervention. Statistical data were analyzed using univariate analysis of covariance.

The results showed that therapeutic demonstration had a significant effect on social skills (F=57.51, P<0.01) and reduction of shyness (F=73.91, P<0.01).

Based on the results of this study, it can be said that drama therapy affects appropriate social behaviors, aggression and impulsive behaviors, superiority and high self-confidence and relationships with peers; therefore, it plays an important role in reducing girls' shyness.