The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness and sustainability of the Social Skills-Based Early Intervention Program designed for socially introverted preschool children. The study group consisted of a total of 20 children, including 10 in the experimental group and 10 in the control group, all aged between 36 and 72 months and attending a preschool institution. The children in the experimental group participated in the Social Skills-Based Early Intervention Program for eight weeks, three days a week, one hour each day. When examining the post-test scores of the children in both the experimental and control groups, it was found that the difference in anxiety-introversion scores was significantly in favor of the experimental group. Following the Social Skills-Based Early Intervention Program, changes were observed in the play behaviors of children in the experimental group; instead of playing alone, they began participating in group games with their peers. It was noted that the children used their social communication skills during play, exhibiting behaviors such as joining a game, initiating a game, and inviting others to play. The results of this study are believed to provide a stepping stone for more comprehensive research into early intervention programs targeting the social skills of socially introverted preschool children especially those who are excessively shy, anxious, or exhibit behavioral inhibition.
Işıktekiner et al. (Wed,) studied this question.