This study investigated the efficacy of bibiliotherapy in a correctional setting. Bibliotherapy (the utilization of books, pamphlets, or other literature) has been recommended as an adjunct to psychotherapy when professional time was at a premium or when the motivational level of the clientele was marginal. The experimental problem of this present study was to assess the usefulness of bibliotherapy in coping with psychological problems found within the correctional setting. This investigation was designed to explore the effects of two self-help packets on two diverse prison populations.

The purpose of this thesis was to, in a selected municipality, examine the position of bibliotherapy in reading groups in public libraries. To attain the purpose of the thesis the following questions were asked; What opinions does the librarians in the existing reading groups have on bibliotherapy? What kind of bibliotherapeutic elements exist in the investigated reading groups? Can the reading groups have bibliotherapeutic elements regardless if they were planned for such purposes? Could bibliotherapy be relevant to the public libraries work with the target group mental disabilities in accordance to library law? As a method seven semi-structured qualitative scientific interviews were conducted alongside one web survey. Six of the interviews were implemented with librarians in public libraries and one with two trained bibliotherapists at a hospital library. The theory used was Elizabeth Brewster’s development of Caroline Shrode’s three phases identification, catharsis and insight, where bibliotherapy is divided into four overlapping kinds of bibliotherapy: emotive bibliotherapy, informative bibliotherapy, social bibliotherapy and escapist bibliotherapy. The results show that there are distinct observations of Shrodes three phases in one of the reading groups that fit the description of Brewsters emotive bibliotherapy. In the librarians’ description of the rest of the reading groups, several elements of social, informative and escapist bibliotherapy can also be found. However, in those groups a clear identification of Shrodes theoretical phases are much more elusive, even if there are some similarities. The reading groups’ content of bibliotherapeutic elements appears to be, to some extent, independent of the librarians’ knowledge of bibliotherapeutic terms and denominations. Bibliotherapeutic work seems to be close to unknowingly performed by the librarians in the reading groups, which none the less does not seem to affect its efficiency. Further knowledge about bibliotherapy is assessed to be beneficial to the reading groups in public libraries, which in turn would contribute to the fulfilling of the goals in library law.

Children experience life crisis and normal developmental problems. This study is aimed at highlighting the role fiction can play in assisting children in coping with certain normal life crisis and developmental problems. A discussion on the nature of the bibliotherapeutic process indicated that fiction plays a major role in the success thereof. A model was designed for the selection process of fiction for the bibliotherapeutic process. Selection criteria were established for both the reader and the reading matter. Tables were designed consisting of selection criteria for both the reader and the reading matter. Stories about life crisis relating to death and divorce, as well as normal developmental problems about fear of peer group rejection and fear of the acquirement of skills, were evaluated against these criteria. This indicates that it is possible to select the right book for the bibliotherapeutic process with children. / Information Science / M.Inf.

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This study investigated the effect of bibliotherapy as an intervention for aggressive elementary children at a residential treatment center in the western United States. Bibliotherapy was provided for six children, three boys and three girls, ages 9 to 11, Caucasian and Hispanic, who took part in one of two groups. The study involved a multi-baseline design, beginning with a baseline phase, followed by two separate intervention phases comprised of eight sessions of bibliotherapy. Data gathered from almost daily observations along with pre- and post-intervention ratings of aggressive behaviors indicated that four of the six students demonstrated notable decreases in observed aggressive behaviors as well as decreases in teachers' ratings of aggression and/or social problems. Social validity for bibliotherapy as a viable and enjoyable intervention for aggressive behaviors was supported through interviews of students, teachers, and therapists. This study supports the potential for bibliotherapy to be a viable intervention to implement in the public school setting to decrease the observed aggressive behaviors of elementary school students.

This qualitative study examines the experiences and attitudes of elementary school students regarding individuals with disabilities, following five weeks of disability awareness instruction. It also evaluates the social validity of disability awareness instruction as an intervention tool based on student perceptions, and compares the use of a didactic teaching approach with one that also incorporates the use of bibliotherapy techniques. The current study is part of a larger study using a pre-test, post-test experimental group design (Teerlink, 2012). Participants included 322 elementary school students. Each class of first through sixth grade students was randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a bibliotherapy treatment group (n = 125), a didactic teaching group (n = 124), and a no-intervention control group (n = 73). Data for this study were collected at post-test only, using a short-answer, open-ended questionnaire administered to all participants, as well as focus group interviews conducted with three to four students from each grade level. Results indicate that age and grade level seemed to have a progressively strong influence on whether students knew someone with a disability or recognized the presence of a disability among those with whom they were acquainted. In their attempts to define what it means to have a disability, as well as to identify specific disabilities, student responses seemed to lean towards observable impairments such as Down syndrome, physical disabilities, and speech/language impairments. The overwhelming majority of participants indicated that they would like to be friends with someone who had a disability and that the most important thing they learned from the disability awareness lessons was to be kind and helpful to those with disabilities. Although the majority of students expressed the desire to be friends with people who had disabilities and clearly recognized the importance of treating them with kindness and compassion, students were equally split on whether or not these ideals were actually being implemented by students in their school. In addition, when students were given the opportunity to describe their own observations and examples of how students with disabilities were treated at their school, they were more likely to describe incidents of conflict or unpleasant interactions rather than recalling incidents of kindness or positive interactions. Students specifically identified communication issues and coping with stressful or frustrating situations as the biggest challenges or fears associated with trying to be friends with someone who has a disability. Students from both the bibliotherapy group and the didactic teaching group seemed to share similar attitudes towards individuals with disabilities and respond with equally positive enthusiasm to the intervention. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

The present study examined the efficacy of a self-help guide in the area of marital separation and divorce. The guide itself was written after an extensive series of interviews with people undergoing separation and professionals such as lawyers and counsellors who deal with separating people as part of their working day. The experiment demanded firstly a thorough investigation of two major areas viz.(a) the new Family Law Act and its effects, and (b) the current trend to self-help in many areas of our society. The particular style of self-help under investigation was help through reading-bibliotherapy. A factor analysis was performed in order to determine which facets of separation most required attention from those who have separated or are about to separate. Methodology involved using three groups matched for certain characteristics to test for changes after bibliotherapeutic interventions. The failure to find statistically significant results was discussed in terms of methodological problems. Socially significant results emerged as implications for welfare practice, and possible legal changes were examined.

The purpose of the study was to determine whether tenth grade adolescents can exhibit the three goals of bibliotherapy, identification, catharsis, and insight, thus achieving self-discovery, through reading contemporary adolescent novels and discussing them with their English teacher on an individualistic basis. Six subjects, four girls and two boys, were selected from two tenth grade English classes at Anderson High School, Anderson, Indiana. The students were given two literary attitude surveys: "Questionnaire: Responses to Feminine Characters in Literature" and "Literary Transfer and Interest in Reading Literature," as pre-tests and post-tests. The six subjects, selected on the basis of average or better grades as well as demonstrated maturity and responsibility, read' Confessions of a Teenage Baboon by Paul Zindel, Don't Look and it Won't Hurt by Richard Peck, The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katharine Paterson, My Darling, My Hamburger by Paul Zindel, The Pistachio Prescription by Paula Danziger, and That Was Then, This Is Now by S. E. Hinton. The students discussed each book in a specific order in a private, tape-recorded session with their English teacher, the researcher, who asked predetermined questions over each book. After the tape-recorded discussions were transcribed, the responses were identified as examples of identification (ID), catharsis (C), and insight (IN).Findings1. Identification with fictional characters can lead to insights by adolescents not only about the characters but also about their own personal lives.2. The number of insights did not increase as more books were read.3. In this study the girls appeared to achieve more identification and to gain more insights than the boys.4. Catharsis is the one goal of bibliotherapy less frequently experienced, but the more an adolescent becomes emotionally involved in a book, the more likely he is to experience catharsis.5. Adolescents can achieve self-discovery if they are given the opportunity to discuss fictional characters and situations as related to their own concerns with teachers who can take the time to do so.Conclusions1. Bibliotherapy on an individual basis with adolescent novels not only has emotional and personal benefits but also academic value in that students will respond more readily and responsibly to literature within the realm of their own experience than to the traditional literature of classroom anthologies.2. Emotional maturity and self-discovery can occur if educators are willing to individualize and humanize education.3. Bibliotherapy with adolescent novels can engender feelings of mutual trust and respect between teachers and their students, who need the opportunity to discuss their feelings and problems with adults whom they perceive care about them.4. The individualized approach to bibliotherapy can provide more thorough and genuine responses, leading to significant conclusions.

This study was designed to determine degree to which self concept and reading readiness of kindergarten children might be affected through a bibliotherapeutic intervention program. The procedure employed oral reading of selections by the teacher, retelling of stories by children, discussion questions, and follow-up activities.The population consisted of ten kindergarten sections (six experimental and four comparison) in four elementary schools within Harrison District #2, Colorado Springs, Colorado.Assessment instruments included scales from the Stanford Early School Achievement Test,, and three subcategories and total self concept measures from the I Feel . . . Me Feel: Self Concept Appraisal.The procedures followed by classroom teachers who used the bibliotherapy program during a four-month experimental period were explicitly described in a handbook provided.A one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) tested the null hypotheses of no significant differences between bibliotherapy and comparison groups on measures of (1) self concept and (2) readiness. Univariate F statistics revealed that factors contributing to the significant F included three measures of self concept--Self, Others, Surrounding--and one reading readiness measure--Word Reading.The hypothesis of correlation between self concept employed a one-tailed t statistic. Statistically significant correlations were evidenced between self concept total and two readiness subtests--Math and Environment.Findings included:1. Significant differences for all three self concept measures favoring the bibliotherapy group.2. Statistically significant differences between the bibliotherapy and comparison groups for one of the two reading readiness measures with no significant difference for general areas of readiness.No statistically significant correlations between self concept and reading readiness measures; statistically significant correlations for two areas of general readiness.Among the population studies, it was concluded that bibliotherapy appeared to have a favorable impact on pupil perceptions and achievement. Use of bibliotherapy by teachers was recommended as well as further research to establish potential effectiveness.