Candidate: Carmen Colleen Baldus

Degree of: Doctor of Education

Department: Counselor Education and Counseling
Psychology

Title: A Study of the Effect of Group Family
Play on Family Relations For Families
with Children Considered At-Risk For
Educational Failure

Committee:
Dr. Suzanne Hedstrom
Dr. Karen Blaisure
Dr. Margie Geasler

Date: Friday, November 2, 2001, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.
3210 Sangren

Abstract:
This study investigated the difference in family health and parenting stress between families with children identified as at-risk for educational failure who participated in Group Family Play and families who did not participate. Family health was assessed through use of the health/competence, style, and conflict scales of the Beaver’s Self Report Family Inventory (SFI), while parenting stress was measured by the Parenting Stress Index –3 rd Edition (PSI). A total of 174 family members from 43 families participated in the study. Families were randomly assigned to one of the four groups comprising a Solomon Four Group Design. Groups 1 and 3 (experimental groups) participated in an informational meeting and six sessions of Group Family Play, while Groups 2 and 4 (control groups) attended the informational meeting, but did not participate in Group Family Play until the completion of the study.

Of the forty-three families from the rural counties in central Michigan who participated, SFI data were completed on 121 individuals. Groups 1 and 2 took both pre- and posttests to determine differences in health/competence, style, conflict, and parenting stress. Groups 3 and 4 took only the post-test. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was computed to determine if there was a significant difference between the groups on the health/competence, style, and conflict scales. The ANOVA did not detect a statistically significant difference at the .05 level on measures of health/competence, style, or conflict between families who participated in Group Family Play and families who did not participate.

The ANOVA was not applied to the data received on the PSI due to a limited parent sample. Instead, a two-tailed t test was computed to look at the difference between the mean scores of parents who participated in Group Family Play (Groups 1 and 3 combined) and parents who did not participate (Groups 2 and 4 combined). The t test did not result in a statistically significant difference at the .05 level on the PSI between parents who participated in Group Family Play and parents who did not participate.

There was little attrition following the introduction of the Group Family Play experiences even though families were required to attend a minimum of five of the seven sessions. Despite lack of statistical significance, written comments were uniformly positive. Families found participation in family play fun, a positive way to spend time together, and an experience that brought about insight and change.

Further research is recommended to look at the use of Group Family Play for more defined populations and with different instrumentation. Also recommended is study of family play as a therapeutic technique used in conjunction with therapy.

Recommendations concerning the study of family play and its relationship to gender, age, and population are also discussed.

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