The Effectiveness of Dramatherapy on the Aggression of Children with ADHD Diagnosis

Abstract

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the disorders that causes many problems for children. Numerous treatments have been suggested to improve this disorder, but this is so important to use non-pharmacological treatments that have no side effects. In this study, the effectiveness of theater therapy on aggression in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was investigated. A quasi-experimental design of pre-test-post-test with control group and follow-up test was used. The statistical population included all children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Rafsanjan City, which 16 children were selected by using available sampling method and were randomly dividedin experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in theater therapy group sessions, while the control group received no intervention. Data gathered by using Shahim Elementary School Aggression Questionnaire, at three phases: pre-test, post-test and follow-up. Analysis of variance with repeated measurment was used to analyze the data. The results showed that the aggression of the experimental group had decreased compared to the control group after the intervention and also after one month (follow-up stage). Therefore, it can be concluded that theater therapy reduces the rate of aggression in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Keywords

• aggression
• attention deficit
• hyperactivity
• dramatherapy