Investigating the effect of play therapy on executive functions and impulsivity in children with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD student, Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Bojnourd Branch, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Bojnourd Branch, Iran.

10.22099/ebd.2025.8163

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of play therapy on executive functions and impulsivity in children with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The present study was an experimental method with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of the present study consisted of all students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Mashhad in 1403. 30 students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were selected as a sample from among those referred to the Mashhad Welfare Center and were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups of 15 people. The Patton et al. (1995) Impulsivity Questionnaire, Brief Executive Functions (2000), and Connors et al. (1999) Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Questionnaire were used to collect data. With the consent of the children's parents, the experimental group underwent play therapy for eight sessions, and the control group did not receive training. SPSS software and repeated measures analysis of variance were used to analyze the data. The results showed that play therapy has a significant effect on increasing executive functions and reducing impulsivity in students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Based on these results, it can be concluded that play therapy is an effective method in increasing executive functions and reducing impulsivity in students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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History

  • Receive Date: 25 February 2025
  • Revise Date: 15 April 2025
  • Accept Date: 14 May 2025

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