Abstract
Aim: The aim of the present study is to examine the effectiveness of storytelling in enhancing children’s resilience through the psychosocial intervention “Iolina & Koronakos” during a pandemic.
Method: One hundred and fifteen kindergarten and elementary students with an age range between 5-11 years (mean age = 7.59, SD=2.32), 62 boys (53.9%) and 53 girls (46.1%) from the general population of Greece participated at the study. A research questionnaire of 8 items based on five different stories of Iolina and Koronakos examining anxiety/uncertainty, compliance with antivirus guidelines, emotional problem-solving strategies, and levels of optimism was given to participants 2 times over a three-week period (before and after the intervention).
Results: The intervention was found to significantly enhance children’s resilience since after the intervention children demonstrated reduced levels of anxiety/uncertainty (p<.00025) and increased levels of compliance with antivirus guidelines (p<.00025), emotional problem-solving strategies (p<.00025) and optimism (p<.00025), respectively.
Conclusions: The present study constitutes a first attempt to promote children’s resilience through storytelling under the focus of cognitive-behavioral therapy in pandemic times, both in Greece and worldwide, thus, cultivating the terrain for further research to be conducted, in order to develop and adopt appropriate interventions specifically designed to successfully address and manage the pandemic crisis in children.
