Comparing the Effectiveness of Story Therapy and Music Therapy on Anxiety in Primary School Students

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present investigation was to draw a comparison between the efficacy of story therapy and music therapy in alleviating anxiety among primary school students in the city of Ilam. Methods: The present study employed a semi-experimental approach, utilizing a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The target population for this research consisted of second-year students attending elementary schools in Ilam in the year 2022. The sample size comprised 63 individuals, selected through accessible sampling, and were randomly assigned to three groups (21 students per group, with two experimental groups and one control group). The anxiety questionnaire developed by Najarian et al. (2014) was utilized as the research instrument. The experimental groups underwent eight sessions of story therapy training and twelve sessions of music therapy, while the control group did not receive any intervention. The data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (p < 0.05) with the assistance of SPSS software. Results: The findings revealed that both story therapy and music therapy were effective in reducing students' anxiety. Also, according to the findings, there is no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two interventions on reducing anxiety. Conclusions: Consequently, these findings hold valuable implications for educators, child psychologists, and families.

Keywords

• story therapy
• music therapy
• anxiety
• primary school students