The Effectiveness of Life Skills Training on General Health and Social Problem Solving Skills on Mothers with Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Disordered attention/hyperactivity disorder is one of the most common disorders of pediatric psychiatry. In the fifth diagnostic guide and statistical classification of mental disorders, the incidence rate for this disorder was 2.5% for adults and 5% for children. Children with hyperactivity due to problems such as strain, restlessness, and insufficiency of attention, have a profound effect on their relationships with other family members and the overall environment governing this environment. The presence of these children in each family affects the structure of that family and overwhelms the mental health of the family, especially the parents. In such a situation, although all family members and their function are harmed, the problems associated with childcare associated with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder, especially the mother, are at risk for mental illness. Mothers are usually responsible for daycare, especially when children are younger. Consequently, when there is a problem, the mother feels most discomfort and this affects their mental health and compatibility. Life skills are skills that are used to enhance communication, increase decision-making power, and manage and understand themselves. The promotion of life skills, including coping skills and psychosocial skills, is effective in improving the quality of life and enhances the psychological ability of the individual to cope effectively and address conflicts and life successes. These abilities enable the individual to act positively and consistently about other human beings in society, culture, and environment and to provide his or her public health. Research evidence has shown that life skills training has a positive effect on self-esteem, self-esteem, and responsibility of individuals, and this leads to social support and the attention of others who are reducing stressors. Socially disadvantaged methods can increase risk behaviors. Studies have also shown that problem-solving ability is associated with depression and social phobia. Social problem solving can increase situational coping and behavioral competence. These skills can prevent or reduce emotional distress. Learning problem-solving skills in dealing with challenging situations with a general level of health and reducing stress-related mental health problems is directly related. The low social problem solving is due to incompatible cognitive processes that make it difficult for a person to deal effectively with problematic situations or to provide practical solutions. Therefore, inefficient problem-solving skills may cause vulnerability to mental health problems or exacerbate existing problems. Life skills education plays an essential role in mental health. Training these skills prepares the individual to overcome the tensions and issues that face the individual and the community. The present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of life skills training on general health and social problem solving of mothers with children with attention deficit disorder. The research method was quasi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design with the control group. In this study, 20 mothers with children with attentional and hyperactivity disorder selected from counseling clinics in Golpayegan city. They were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. An intervention conducted in 10 sessions in the experimental group. The social problem-solving questionnaires (Dizarilla et al., 2002) and general health (Goldberg & Hoiller, 1972) used before and after the training. For analysis, covariance test was performed using SPSS-22 software. The results of covariance analysis showed that life skills training had a significant effect on general health (P<0.001) and social problem-solving skills (P <0.001) in mothers with children’s attentional/hypertensive disorder. According to the results of this study, it is recommended that therapists work with families with children with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), to develop life skills education to promote general health and social problem-solving skills of these families.