The Development of Game-based Group Therapy Program on Self-esteem and Peer relationship of Grandchildren Living with Rural Grandparents

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of self-esteem and peer relationship of rural grandchildren. The current research aims to perform game-based group therapy to those grandchildren in the lower grades of elementary school raised by grandparents in the rural area and identify the effect of the program on their self-esteem and peer relationship. The demographic characteristics and homogeneity between the experimental and the control groups were examined by nonparametric statistical methods, the Mann-Whitney U Test and the Wilcoxon Singed-Rank Test were conducted by SPSS. The results of this study are summarized as follows. A group program is effective in improving the self-esteem and peer relationship. Statistically significant differences were shown in experimental group and control group. This study has significance in terms that it proved the effects of a group program on the growth of grandchildren. This study proved the effects of a group program on the self-esteem and peer relationship of grandchildren living with rural grandparents, and the effects were confirmed by an experimental study.