Mohammadreza Noroozi Homayoon; Nader Heidari Raziabad; Ali Rezaeisharif; Ali Sheykholeslami; Mahdi Jafari Moradlo
Abstract
AbstractThe purpose of this research was to design and validate a model for improving attention deficit and hyperactivity in primary school students of Ardabil City. The research was applied in terms of purpose, mixed in terms of the nature of data, and exploratory in terms of execution method. In the ...
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AbstractThe purpose of this research was to design and validate a model for improving attention deficit and hyperactivity in primary school students of Ardabil City. The research was applied in terms of purpose, mixed in terms of the nature of data, and exploratory in terms of execution method. In the qualitative part, the semi-structured interview and database theory have been used. The statistical population of the qualitative section was university professors and experts in the field of school counseling and educational sciences, 15 of whom were selected based on the principle of opinion saturation. The statistical population in the quantitative section was all the primary school teachers of Ardabil City in the academic year of 2023-2024 in the number of 2600 people, according to Morgan's table, 335 of them were selected based on stratified random sampling. The data collection tool in this research was a researcher-made questionnaire resulting from the refined concepts obtained from the primary codes. The data sets obtained after the continuous process of open, central, and selective coding were organized in the form of 156 open codes, 146 concepts, 12 categories and 6 classes based on a systematic approach. The findings of the research show the improvement pattern of attention deficit and hyperactivity in elementary school students of Ardabil city under the categories of personal and psychological characteristics, motor skills, social skills, attention deficit disorder, educational strategies at the individual level, educational strategies at the interpersonal and communication level, pharmaceutical interventions and nutrition, physiological and behavioral interventions, psychological control, strengthening motor and physical abilities, psychological growth and social participation were categorized and fit in terms of validation (p<0.05). Finally, it is suggested that the results of this research be used as a guide and a general path to improve attention deficit and hyperactivity by specialists in schools and in other centers such as psychological service centers, counseling and psychotherapy clinics, welfare centers, universities, etc. Use existing situations and contexts.Keywords: Design, Validation, Attention Deficit, Hyperactivity, Elementary School Students. Extended Abstract IntroductionOne of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders is attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) which is characterized by the inability to pay sustained attention, impulsivity, hyperactivity inhibition, impulse control, internalizing, and externalizing problems, which has become a growing concern globally. Statistics show that this dysfunction affects 3-7% of children. According to the fifth diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is a chronic and uncoordinated neurodevelopmental mental disorder characterized by hyperactivity, impulsivity, and reduced attention. Among the treatments that are used to reduce the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are drug treatments that also have beneficial effects, which are suitable in the short term; but hyperactive children do not achieve an optimal level of attention by taking these drugs; therefore, along with drug treatments, it is necessary to use other treatments. Therefore, considering the many issues and problems that this disorder has caused in children, families and teachers, and considering that this disorder is often diagnosed in school-aged children, in the current research, it was considered necessary to design and validate the improvement model of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among primary school students in Ardabil city to introduce and categorize a set of factors that can be the foundation and shaper of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and also factors that can be effective in improving and treating this disorder, and the set of factors related to this disorder should be discussed. MethodologyThe aim of the current research is to design and validate the model for improving attention deficit and hyperactivity in primary school students. Due to the fact that the results of this research can be directly used, therefore, the current research was applied in terms of purpose and mixed (qualitative and quantitative) in terms of the nature of the data. In terms of the implementation method, the research was exploratory. The research method in the qualitative part was a semi-structured interview and the implementation of the foundation data method, and in the quantitative part, the structural equation model method was used. The qualitative statistical population of the research was university professors and experts in the field of school counseling and educational sciences of Ardabil province. In this research, to select the sample of the qualitative part of the work, purposive sampling, which is one of the non-probability sampling methods, was used. The sample size of the qualitative part was 15 university professors in the field of school counseling and educational sciences in Ardabil. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. In order to implement the research, a week before the interview, the title and purpose of the research were explained to the professors. Ethical issues in this research include ensuring the informed consent of the participants to participate in the research and recording the content of the interviews, as well as the right to withdraw from the research at all stages of the research. The statistical population in the quantitative section was all primary school teachers in Ardabil city. The total number of primary school teachers in Ardabil city in the academic year 1402-1401 was around 2600 people. Therefore, according to the size of the statistical population and based on Morgan's table, 335 people were selected as the statistical sample size of the quantitative section based on stratified random sampling. In order to analyze the questions in the first stage, the structural codes were collected by three methods of open coding, axial coding and selective coding, and in the second stage, due to checking the fit of the model obtained from the first stage, according to the non-normal distribution of the data using the partial least squares method. PLS and bootstrapping techniques were used in Smart PLS software. ResultsAfter the qualitative analysis that led to the identification of primary codes, these codes were classified into several categories according to the similarity and authenticity of the data, and finally, the categories were placed in special classes. After continuous analysis and open, central and selective coding, the data were organized in the form of 156 open codes, 146 concepts, 12 categories and 6 classes (causal conditions, central conditions, strategies, intervening conditions, background conditions and consequences). In fact, these data show the criteria for improvement of attention deficit and hyperactivity in primary school students of Ardabil city and a new pattern emerged in this direction. DiscussionThe results of the research show the improvement pattern of attention deficit and hyperactivity in elementary school students of Ardabil city under the categories of personal and psychological characteristics, motor skills, social skills, attention deficit disorder, educational strategies at the individual level, educational strategies at the interpersonal and communication level, pharmaceutical interventions. and nutrition, physiological and behavioral interventions, psychological control, strengthening motor and physical abilities, psychological development and social participation were categorized and fit in terms of validation. ConclusionFinally, it is suggested that the results of this research be used as a guide and a general path to improve attention deficit and hyperactivity by specialists in schools and in other centers such as psychological service centers, counseling and psychotherapy clinics, welfare centers, universities, etc. Use existing situations and contexts.AcknowledgmentsWe are grateful to all the teachers of Ardabil City who helped in the implementation of the project with their participation in the
Jafar Mahmoodi; Iman Mesbah; Ali rezaeisharif
Abstract
Abstract
The current study has been conducted to get the amount of effectiveness of the compassion-based approach on alexithymia and the sense of coherence in mothers with intellectually disabled children. It has been in progress for two months with a semi-experimental design using pre-test and post-test, ...
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Abstract
The current study has been conducted to get the amount of effectiveness of the compassion-based approach on alexithymia and the sense of coherence in mothers with intellectually disabled children. It has been in progress for two months with a semi-experimental design using pre-test and post-test, accompanied by a control group. The whole population of the study involved 56 mothers having intellectually disabled children, who registered them in the Marand Well-being Organization Office from 2017 to 2022, of whom 30 had the required condition to get into the research. The study used a purposeful method for choosing the samples and put them randomly in two experimental and control groups. Compassion-based approach training was conducted in eight sessions for the experimental group while the control group received nothing. The data collected were analyzed and collected through alexithymia and the sense of coherence scales and were undergone the SPSS-22 software for the latter analysis and variance calculations. According to the results obtained compassion-based approach therapy for alexithymia and sense of coherence had a meaningful effect (p≤0/05). The follow-up stage has also demonstrated that the effect of compassion-based treatment on alexithymia and the sense of coherent sense of mothers with intellectually disabled children has been stable. Based on the results, psychology and counseling experts could use compassion-based training programs for alexithymia reduction and coherence sense enhancement of intellectually disabled children’s caregivers.
Keywords: Alexithymia, Compassion-Based Therapy, Intellectual Disability, Sense of Coherence.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Mental intellectual (intellectual developmental disorder) is a disorder that begins during the development period and includes a person's lack of adaptive functioning and intelligence in the practical, social, and conceptual domains (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). The presence of a mentally retarded child can cause a change in the mental health and dynamics of the family system (Bahadori Khosrowshahi and Habibi-Kaleiber, 2015). When parents find out about their child's disability, they experience various forms of stress and psychological pressure, social isolation, and mental health problems (Popa, 2020). In the meantime, mothers, in the position of the main caretaker of the child, bear the biggest burden of the problem (Milani Far, 1400, p. 184). As most of the caretaking time for the child and interacting with him is usually taken by the mother, and due to the intellectual disability of the child, it has many problems in the intelligence, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development field, there are major tensions in this regard directed at the mother (Gupta and Kaur, 2010).
One of the therapeutic interventions that seem to be effective in empowering mothers with mentally retarded children is self-compassion therapy (Rostampour-Brinjistanki, Abbasi, and Mirzaeian, 2019). Compassion therapy was founded by Gilbert (2005) as the main therapy and even complementary therapy (Lucre and Clapton, 2021). This treatment is a patient-centered behavior change strategy, and its purpose is to identify and reduce a person's doubts about changing their behavior, change in lifestyle and routine, and improve the person's perception of the importance of behavior change (Hacken and Taylor, 2021).
Research Question
Is compassion-based therapy effective in increasing the sense of coherence and reducing alexithymia of mothers with mentally retarded children?
Literature Review
The results of various studies show that compassion therapy increases self-coherence adaptability, reduces negative spontaneous thoughts (Ardashirzadeh, Bakhtiarpour, Homaei, Iftikhar Saadi, 2019), increases the sense of coherence (Ghaffari, Ismali, Atashgir, Hakim-abadi, 2017; Lloyd, 2017), improves the symptoms and quality of life (Nashi et al., 2019), reduces depression and anxiety (Safarinia, Mortezai Karhrodi, Alipur, 2022), increases the tolerance of distress and reduces of guilt in mothers with physically disabled children movement (Mahmoudpour, Dehghanpour, Ejadi and Mohammadi, 2021), improves of psychological flexibility in mothers with mentally retarded children (Rostampour Brijstanaki et al., 2016) and improves of alexithymia (Ahmadi Malairi, Rahmani, Pourasghar, 2021) Tajdin, Al-Yasin, Heydari, and Davoudi, 2019).
Methodology
The current research method was a semi-experimental pre-test post-test type with a control group with a 2-month follow-up. The statistical population of the present study was mothers with mentally disabled children who had a disability file for their children in Marand Welfare Department from 2017 to 2022 (N=56). In order to select the statistical sample of the research, by referring to the Marand Welfare Organization and using the purposeful sampling method, 30 mothers with mentally retarded children who have alexithymia (above 60) and sense of coherence (below 63) scales were selected and randomly replaced in the experimental and control groups.
Results
The results of multivariate tests showed that the interaction between time and group is significant for all variables. Therefore, compassion-based treatment training was effective on all variables and caused changes in alexithymia and sense of coherence (P<0.05). The obtained results showed that there is a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores in the two variables of emotional ataxia and sense of coherence (P<0.001). In other words, the effect of compassion-based intervention on research variables is confirmed. Also, there is a significant difference between pre-test and follow-up scores in both variables (P<0.001). In other words, the effect of time is confirmed. Meanwhile, no significant difference was observed between the post-test and follow-up scores in the two variables of alexithymia and the sense of coherence (P<0.05).
Table 1. Benferoni test to investigate the effectiveness of compassion-based therapy for research variables over time
Comparison
Alexithymia
sense of coherence
Mean difference
standard error
Significance level
mean difference
standard error
Significance level
Pre-test post-test
16.24
1.82
0.001
8.51
1.37
0.001
Post-test follow-up
0.97
1.26
0.07
0.48
1.18
0.69
Pre-test follow-up
6.42
2.11
0.001
8.93
1.42
0.001
Discussion
The present study was conducted with the aim of the effectiveness of the compassion-based approach on emotional ataxia and sense of coherence in mothers with intellectually disabled children. Based on the obtained results, compassion-based therapy reduced alexithymia in mothers with mentally retarded children, which is in agreement with the results of some studies (Ahmadi Malairi et al., 2021; Tajdin et al., 2019; Marsh, Chan, and McBeth, 2018; Kiel and Pidgon, 2017). Another finding of the research was that compassion-based therapy is effective in increasing the sense of coherence of mothers with mentally disabled children. The result obtained in accordance with the research results of Aghalar and Akrami (2021), Ardeshirzadeh et al. (2019), Narimani and Eyni (2019), Li, Liu, Han, Zhu, and Wang (2017), and Lloyd (2017).
Conclusion
The present study showed that the participants had clinically significant improvement in each scale and it seems that the intervention based on compassion was effective. The results of the follow-up test were not significantly different from the final test, and the therapeutic method based on compassion had a lasting effect on increasing the sense of coherence and reducing alexithymia.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank all those who participated in this study.