The Effectiveness of Cognitive Intervention on Executive Functions and Self-Regulation in Children with Externalizing Behavior Problems

The aim of this study was determining of the effectiveness of cognitive intervention on improvement of self-regulation and executive functions in children with externalizing behavioral problem. The research design was quasi-experimental with a pre-test, a post test and 2 months of follow-up. The research samples consisted of 30 children 9-12 years old who diagnosed with externalizing behavioral problem based on cut point of Achenbach questionnaire. They were selected through convenience sampling from students in secondary schools of Ahvaz and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. All of participants were assessed in executive functions at the 3 stages. Cognitive intervention was implemented in 12 sessions for experimental group. Data was analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and through SPSS 21. The results of repeated measures analysis of variance showed that cognitive intervention has a significant effect on emotional and behavioral self-regulation and executive functions including working memory, cognitive flexibility and response inhibition(p<0.001). The effect of this intervention was also sustained for emotional and behavioral self-regulation, working memory, cognitive flexibility and response inhibition in the follow up phase (p < 0.001). Using cognitive interventions can be an effective strategy to reduce children's behavioral problems and ultimately improving their educational and social performance.