Using Bibliotherapy to Enhance Preschool Students\u27 Ability to Cope with Emotions

This is a proposal for an experimental study that will explore the use of bibliotherapy (the use of books to help clients cope with challenges and emotional problems by connecting with a character in a book) with preschool-aged students and their ability to cope with their emotions. The study hopes to identify if and how bibliotherapy enhances positive coping strategies in preschoolers and the impact of follow-up activities. The proposed study is a six-week study with the first and last week designated for pre- and post-testing. The measurements that will be used include The Children’s Coping Scale – Revised, the Preschool Anxiety Scale, Quick Interactive Language Screeners, Child/Family Background Questionnaire, and an informal Child Coping Strategy Interview. During each session, all students will engage in guided-reading of an age-appropriate book and discussion. Upon finishing the discussion of the book, half of the students will participate in a creative follow-up activity that will allow them to connect the emotion identified in the book to their personal lives. The other half of the students will participate in a phonological awareness activity (e.g., rhyming and counting syllables) that uses words and themes found in the book. The proposed timeline for the study is Fall 2022