Parental and caregivers attitudes toward the use of play in therapy for children impacted by trauma

The present study investigated parents and caregiver's attitudes toward the use of play in therapy for children impacted by trauma. Parents and caregivers (N = 73) completed an online questionnaire that included; the Parent-child Attachment Scale, the Parenting Styles Dimensions Questionnaire, the Parental Play Beliefs Scale, the Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help- Short Form Scale as well as a series of sociodemographic questions and a questionnaire relating to their experience of bringing their child to therapy. Backward stepwise regression results indicated that different dimensions within each parenting style predicted whether the parent valued the use of play in therapy as well as looking at the parent's level of enjoyment interacting with their child through play. These findings indicate that certain parenting traits can be screened for when parents bring their child to therapy in order to achieve positive outcomes in the therapeutic process and to reduce early termination of therapy.