Pengaruh Play Therapy terhadap Peningkatan Kepercayaan Diri Anak Usia Remaja dalam Dunia Pendidikan (Studi Quasi-Eksperimen)

Fatimatul Laily (Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Sidogiri, Pasuruan Indonesia)
Huda Nur Aizi (Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Sidogiri, Pasuruan Indonesia)
Wara Anggana (Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Sidogiri, Pasuruan Indonesia)

Social Science Academic
Vol. 4 No. 2 (2026)

Self-confidence is a key psychological factor that shapes academic achievement and social adjustment during adolescence. This study examined the effect of play therapy on self-confidence among junior high school students in the Pasuruan region, East Java. A quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design was used. Thirty students aged 10–20 years were assigned to an experimental group (n = 15) and a control group (n = 15). The experimental group received eight play therapy sessions, while the control group followed regular school activities. The experimental group's mean self-confidence score rose from 62.40 to 81.73 (p < .001), whereas the control group's rose from 63.07 to 65.20 (p = .037). The between-group difference at posttest was significant (t(28) = 7.03; p < .001; Cohen's d = 2.57). Play therapy is therefore effective in increasing students' self-confidence and may serve as an alternative school counseling service.