Behavioral-Emotional Self-Regulation Training: A Way to Improve Executive Function and Hyperactivity Symptoms in Adolescents with ADHD

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine the effectiveness of self-Regulation training in adolescents with ADHD for improvement of their executive function and ADHD symptoms. The statistical population was all male adolescents with ADHD in a school in Tehran (2019). The present study was a clinical experiment. For this purpose, 32 high school students in one of the Tehran schools were selected using the random sampling method. For measurement, the Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale—Children and Adolescents (BDEFS-CA), and the Conners' Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS) were used. Following the pre-test, the participants in the experimental group received self-regulation training. Two months later, the follow-up test was performed. Finally, data were analyzed using covariance analyses. The results of statistical analyses indicated that in the post-test all variables including mind organization, ability to targeting, problem-solving, and self-motivation improved; also, ADHD symptoms decreased. In the two-month follow-up, the ability of problem-solving did not significantly increase. The targeting ability, both in the post-test and in the follow-up, despite of increase, was not meaningful due to the low size effect of. The results indicated that intervention can have positive effects on executive function and reduce ADHD symptoms, but to be more effective, the training needed to be longer and accompanied by practice.

Keywords

• emotional-behavioral self-regulation
• attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (adhd)
• adolescent
• executive function