Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Family Group Counseling on Screen Time Usage in Middle Childhood and Parenting Practices
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Abstract
This research aimed to study the impact of the family group counseling involving cognitive behavior on screen time utilization by middle childhood as well as parenting practices. The samples were 28 children between 9 to 12 years old in Mueang Nan District, Nan Province. The samples were selected from the purposive sampling method according to the required criteria. A random assignment method was applied to divide them into two groups; 14 in the control group and another 14 in the experimental group. Consent forms were signed by all minor participants and their parents. The research instruments used in this study consisted of two versions: 1) A children’s version - which consisted of screen time usage behavior and 2) A parental version which consisted of questionnaires as well as an eight-session cognitive-behavioral family group counseling program which included children, parents and family sessions. Each counseling session required 90-120 minutes and contained four steps: 1) assessment, 2) the change of thought and behavior, 3) education, and 4) replacement and retention. For the experimental group, the researcher appointed time and place that were most convenient to them and collected pre- and post-group counseling data. While those in the control group were allowed to participate in the same group counseling format once all sessions of the experimental group were completed. The results showed that 1) after participating in the cognitive-behavioral family group counseling, children’s average score on screen time usage was lower than that before the experiment with a statistically significant difference at 0.05, and 2) after participating in cognitive-behavioral family group counseling, parents had no statistically significant difference in the average score of parenting practices. The quantitative results in the experimental group during the counseling process concluded that participating in cognitive-behavioral family group counseling could reduce children’s screen usage behavior. Moreover, parenting practices could effectively reduce children’s screen usage behavior in terms of reconciliation, emotion management, and screen usage behavior control with appropriate parental participation.
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