Discourse Analysis of Children’s Inference about the Elements of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Theory in Stories

Childhood is the root of many behavioral and emotional problems in adulthood. The purpose of this study is to acknowledge children’s capabilities in identifying and understanding the elements of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) in children's stories.

The discourse analysis and discursive psychology (DP) approach were used in this study. The sample was 12 children (in ages 7 to 12 years old) who were active members of 3 different branches of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children in Mashhad (2 boys and 2 girls from each branch). These children participated in 3 natural language discussion sessions. Each session lasted for 1 or 1.5 hours which resulted in a 9-hour conversation. Based on the discursive psychology, as body language and intonations transfer meaning, all sessions were recorded with a video camera and mobile phone for analysis. Since the discourse analysis explicitly grounded in semantics and linguistics, it offers a credible research methodology.

The result of the discussion analysis shows that if children are familiar with reading and participate in various book activities, they could express their perception of REBT elements in stories through enriched vocabulary and linguistic units (nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, discursive sentences, tone, facial and body movements, proverbs, etc.). It is expected that those who are working with children (i.e., librarians, psychologists, parents, etc.) can base their bibliotherapy programs on the findings of this research and help children prevent or reduce psychological problems and change their irrational beliefs to rational ones.

The findings indicate that REBT theory could provide a suitable basis for bibliotherapy programs by which children have the opportunity to experience cognitive change through enjoyable approaches.