[Effectiveness of psychodrama in improving social skills and reducing internet addiction in female students]

ABSTRACT

This study examined the effectiveness of psychodrama in improving social skills and reducing internet addiction among female students with addiction to internet in Isfahan university. In a semi-experimental study, 36 subjects were selected via convenient sampling which randomly assigned in two groups 18 as the experimental group and 18 as the control group. The experimental group had received ten sessions of social skills training with psychodrama approach. The internet addiction and social skills were assessed via the Yong's Internet Addiction Test and Social Skills Inventory. The applied intervention was evaluated in three stages pretest, post-test and a one month follow-up. Data were analyzed by correlation coefficient and analysis of covariance tests. The experimental group demonstrated a significant improvement in social skills [p<0.001] as well as a significant decrease in internet addiction [p<0.001] in comparison with the control group. The interactions between subjects in psychodrama's group, propund of problems in the presence of participants and discovering the ultimate solution with protagonist are critical factors of the mentioned intervention. The results also suggest that psychodrama interventions can be an effective intervention for improving social skills in persons with internet addiction