Comparison of the effectiveness of painting therapy andgroup play therapy on anxiety and self-esteem of studentswith Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD)

Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common disorders in children that disrupts the overall adjustment of life. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of group play therapy and painting therapy on anxiety and self-esteem of students with ADHD.

The research was an applied research that was conducted by quasi-experimental method with a pre-test -post-test design with a control group. The statistical population included students with ADHD in educational Districts 1 and 2 of Sanandaj in the academic year of 2019-2020, who were divided into 3 groups of 15 people. The subjects in the first group underwent group play therapy intervention, for a period of 10 sessions. The subjects of the second group also underwent 10 sessions of painting therapy intervention, while the subjects of the control group did not receive any intervention. In this study, Self-esteem Questionnaire (Coopersmith, 1967) and Spence Anxiety Questionnaire (1999) were used to collect data. Univariate analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data.

The results showed that group play therapy had a more effect on reducing anxiety in primary school male students with ADHD than painting-therapy. The findings also showed that group play therapy was effective in increasing self-esteem, but painting therapy was not effective.

According to the obtained results, group play therapy and painting therapy can be used as a treatment method to reduce anxiety and increase self-esteem of primary students with ADHD.