The Effect of Social Skills Training on Subjective Well-being, Alexithymia, and Social Competence in Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Oppositional defiant disorder is one of the most common disruptive behavioral disorders and people with this disorder are facing with problems in the field of mental well-being, alexithymia, and social competence. The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of social skills training on subjective well-being, alexithymia, and social competence of children with oppositional defiant disorder.

This research was a semi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test control group design. The research sample consisted of 40 children with oppositional defiant disorder who had been selected by convenience sampling from among those referring to the counseling centers of Qarchak city in 2017. They were assigned either to the experimental or the control group (20 children per group). The experimental group received social skills intervention in 8 sessions of 60 minutes during one month. Research tools included oppositional defiant disorder scale (Hommersen et al., 2006), subjective well-being questionnaire (Keyes & Magyar-Moe, 2003), Toronto alexithymia scale (Bagby & et al, 1994), and social competence questionnaire (Flener & et al, 1990). Data were analyzed by univariate analysis of covariance.

The results showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in all the three variables of subjective well-being, alexithymia, and social competence. In the other words, social skills training significantly led to the increase of subjective well-being and social competence and decrease of alexithymia in children with oppositional defiant disorder (P<0.01).

Considering the findings, it can be concluded that by improving the social relationships and problem solving, the social skills training can improve the psychological and social competence and decrease the alexithymia symptoms in children with oppositional defiant disorder.