The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of a bibliotherapy-based educational program on the level of psychological well-being in 5-6-year-old children. The sample of the research, which employed a convergent parallel design within a mixed methods approach, consisted of a total of 28 children, including 14 in the experimental group and 14 in the control group, who were enrolled in preschool in Efeler district, Aydın Province. The data for the study were collected using the Psychological Well-being Scale for 5-6-Year-Old Children and a Semi-Structured Interview Form for Children. The Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests were utilized to analyze the sub-problems of the research. Regarding the quantitative findings of the study, it was found that there was no significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the experimental group in terms of the sub-dimensions of "Physical Health," "Low Internalization," "Low Externalization," "Self-Regulation," "Social Competence-Initiative," "Cognitive Competence," "Value Behaviors," "Psychological Resilience," "Life Satisfaction," and the total scale score. However, there was a significant increase in the mean scores of "Physical Health," "Low Internalization," "Low Externalization," "Self-Regulation," "Social Competence-Initiative," "Value Behaviors," "Psychological Resilience," and the total score of psychological well-being. As for the qualitative findings, it can be said that the children in the experimental group developed skills to increase their emotional awareness, recognize and express their emotions, and control undesirable tendencies. It was observed that some children became more aware of the importance of cooperation, solidarity, and collaboration, and exhibited a more positive attitude towards helping their peers. These results also indicate that bibliotherapy can be an effective method in improving children's social skills and value behaviors. To allow for the generalization of these results, a need for broader sample groups is emphasized. Additionally, it is believed that addressing the ÇOPİO sub-dimensions separately in the planning process could enhance the significance of the outcomes.
Bibliotherapy, psychological well-being