The Effectiveness of Psycho-Cognitive Training Based on Time Perception on the Procrastination of Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Some studies show that adults with attention–deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have problems in planning, completing and finishing assignments, completing assignments on time, and completing work tasks on time. Procrastination is a common phenomenon that is known as a stable behavioral trait and is introduced as a failure in self–regulation. Time perception refers to the ability to estimate the length and timing of events. Considering the importance of the role of time perception and the problems caused by procrastination and the inability to manage time in adults with ADHD and also because little research has been done in the field of improving time perception and most research studies have investigated the factors affecting time perception, so the purpose of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of the psycho–cognitive training package on procrastination in students with ADHD.

The present study was one of the applied studies with a pretest–posttest design with a control group. The statistical population of this research consisted of all students with ADHD who were referred to the Counseling Center of the University of Science and Arts. Of whom, 30 of them were selected through convenience sampling. Then, they were randomly placed in two experimental and control groups. The inclusion criteria were being in the age range of 18 to 24 years and having high scores on the Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale–IV (BAARS–IV). The exclusion criteria were being absent from more than two sessions and not completing the questionnaires. Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale–IV (BAARS–IV) (Barkley, 2011) was used to diagnose people with this disorder, and Procrastination questionnaire (Savari, 2011) was used in the pretest and posttest to measure procrastination. The experimental group underwent psycho–cognitive training intervention for 16 sessions weekly for two months and the control group did not receive any intervention. The data were analyzed at tdescriptive level (mean and standard deviation) and inferential level (Levene’s, Shapiro–Wilk, covariance analysis) at 0.05 level using SPSS21 software.

The results of covariance analysis by removing the effect of the pretest showed that the difference between the average scores of the experimental and control groups in the posttest was significant for procrastination (p<0.001) and its components including intentional procrastination (p=0.002), procrastination due to physical and mental fatigue (p=0.031), and procrastination due to lack of planning (p=0.043).

According to the findings, the psycho–cognitive training package reduces the procrastination of students with ADHD. Therefore, the mentioned treatment method is recommended to other specialists in this field.