Experimental study on group sandplay intervention for social anxiety and loneliness in obese children

Abstract

Intervention effect of group sandplay on social anxiety and loneliness in obese children was explored in this study. 120 children who met the diagnostic criteria for obesity from four primary schools in China, participated in an eight-week experiment. The 60 obese children of the experiment group underwent group sandplay and walking and running intervention, whereas the 60 children of the control group underwent walking and running intervention. Comparative tests performed before and after the intervention showed the following results: (1) The body mass index (BMI) and loneliness of the two groups are statistically significantly lower than they were before the intervention (P < 0.001). The decrease in the BMI of the experiment group is slightly higher (not statistically significant) than that of the control group. The decrease in loneliness of the experiment group is statistically significantly higher than that of the control group (P = 0.002); (2) the total scores of both groups in social anxiety and depression after the intervention decreased by varying degrees. The difference in the experiment group before and after the intervention is statistically significant (P < 0.001), whereas no significant difference is observed in the control group before and after the intervention (P > 0.05). The diminution in depression of the experiment group is greater than that of the control group, the difference is statistically significant (P < 0.05). Group sandplay therapy, combined with walking and running intervention, has a certain intervention effect on social anxiety and loneliness of obese children.