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Spiritual Education Program for Reducing Social Anxieties and Improving Social Interaction Skills Among Introverted Children: A Cross-Country Longitudinal Experimental Study

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Abstract

This article reports on a longitudinal experimental study with 3,227 introverted children aged 6–8 years from 15 countries on the effects of a spiritual education program (SEP) in reducing social interaction phobia and anxieties and improving social interaction skills. The pre- and post-test scores of the treatment group children were examined and compared with the scores of the control group on the following measures: the play interaction dimension of the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS-PI), the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C), and the Children’s Self-Efficacy in Peer Interaction Scale (CSPI). Results showed that the scores of the control group and pre-test scores of the treatment group were lower on the PIPPS-PI and CSPI and higher on the SPAI-C. Post-test or post-SEP scores of the treatment group children were higher on the PIPPS-PI and CSPI and lower on the SPAI-C. Boys, upper-middle-class children, Christians, children who lived with both their parents, children who did three or four rounds of the SEP, and children who regularly self-practiced scored higher on the PIPPS-PI post-test. Post-treatment CSPI scores were higher for children from affluent countries. The most effective predictors of higher post-test CSPI scores were the number of rounds of SEP and self-practice. Results suggest the importance of SEP for introverted children who experience social interaction anxieties.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Sion-Trombay Road, Deonar, Mumbai, 400088, India

    Samta P. Pandya

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  1. Samta P. Pandya
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Correspondence to Samta P. Pandya.

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The author declares that she has no potential conflict of interest. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from the study participants and their parents via signatures on the prescribed form.

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Pandya, S.P. Spiritual Education Program for Reducing Social Anxieties and Improving Social Interaction Skills Among Introverted Children: A Cross-Country Longitudinal Experimental Study. Pastoral Psychol 66, 625–639 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-017-0782-0

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