Comparing the Effectiveness of Art-Play Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Training in Promoting Problem Solving Skills of Elementary School Sixth-Graders

The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of art-play therapy and mindfulness-based training in promoting problem solving skills of male elementary school sixth-graders. This quasi-experimental research had a pretest-posttest control group design. The statistical population of the study was comprised of all male elementary school sixth-graders in Bukan in 2020-2021 school year from among whom 45 students were selected via multistage random sampling method and randomly assigned to two experimental and one control groups (15 pupils in each group). The experimental groups received twelve 90-minute training sessions using two different intervention programs: art-play therapy and mindfulness training, whereas the control group did not receive any intervention. The Problem Solving Inventory (Heppner & Peterson, 1982) was used as the research tool at both pre- and post-test stages. For data analysis, multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the Bonferroni test were utilized. Results showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental groups and the control group in terms of subscales of problem solving (problem-solving confidence, approach-avoidance style, and personal control) in the post-test (P≤ 0.05). In addition, mindfulness training had a greater effect on students' problem solving ability compared to art-play therapy (P≤0.05). Accordingly, mindfulness training can be used by educators as an effective intervention for improving the problem-solving ability of primary school children and enhancing their cognitive abilities.