The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Play Therapy on Impulsivity of Hyperactive 5-7-Year-Old Children

The effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral play therapy on hyperactive children

Background: The aim of the current research was to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral play therapy on improving impulsivity of hyperactive children aged 5 to 7 years.

Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with both pre- and post-tests, along with a control group, and a follow-up period of one month. The statistical population included all children with hyperactivity disorder, 5 to 7 years old, in Izeh City, Iran, in 2020. Purposeful sampling was employed to select 30 participants based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. They were then randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups (n = 15 per group). The intervention group received twelve 60-minute sessions of cognitive-behavioral play therapy, while the control group was on the waiting list. The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-Version 11 (BIS-11) was applied as a research tool. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used by SPSS software.

Results: The univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that cognitive-behavioral play therapy effectively reduced impulsivity (F = 24.514, P = 0.001) and this difference continued during the follow-up period.

Conclusion: The effect of cognitive-behavioral play therapy training on the improvement of impulsivity in the experimental group in comparison with the control group has continued in the follow-up phase of 1.5 months.