The Effects of Sandplay Therapy on the Behavioral Problems, Self-esteem, and Emotional Intelligence of Children in Grandparents-grandchildren Families in Rural Korean Areas

Abstract

The value of the family unit in South Korea has changed with the increasing participation of women in the labor market. That is, the value of family is no longer regarded as the supreme value but has a relative value determined by individual choice. Due to the change in values, many families have disintegrated and children in these families have experienced severe emotional upheaval. According to Statistics Korea (2006), the percentage of grandparents-grandchildren families in the country has increased by 28.5% in the period of 2000-2005. Most children who are being raised by their grandparents live in rural areas where they were forced to move for economic reasons in the wake of their families’ disintegration. The inherent poverty of these family units is compounded by the generation gap and resulting tension between grandparents and their grandchildren. This environment frustrates the efforts of children who wish to expand their sphere of activity, but are faced with stressful circumstances in the new living arrangements with their grandparents (Kim, 2012). Due to feelings of abandonment by their parents, and also low self-esteem from the lack of positive selfimage, the children of broken families suffer emotional difficulties and various problems in school (Kim, 2004). Effective intervention programs that are designed for the social and emotional development of children living in grandparents-grandchildren families are therefore urgently required (Chung, Original Article Symbols and Sandplay Therapy 2014;5(1):7-13 http://dx.doi.org/10.12964/jsst.130012 eISSN : 2288-5188 pISSN : 2234-0556