The Effectiveness of Parent-Child Joint Play on Reducing Impulsivity and Increasing Social Skills of Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Sometimes, the presence of impulsive behaviors in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder increases their social problems, and the amount of interaction with their parents can increase their abilities. Based on this, the present study was conducted with the aim of determining the effectiveness of parent-child joint play on reducing impulsivity and increasing the social skills of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In this research, a semi-experimental method was used with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group, and its statistical population consisted of all children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in Bojnord city and their mothers in 2022, 30 of whom were selected by purposive sampling and were randomly placed in two groups of 15 people, experimental and control. For both groups, the pre-test, including Barth's impulsivity scale (1995) and Matson's social skills scale (1983), was implemented, and the experimental group had 8 two-hour weekly sessions under the joint game. The parent and the child were placed and the control group did not receive any intervention. Both groups completed the post-test again and the results were analyzed through analysis of covariance. The findings showed that Parent-child joint play is effective in reducing impulsivity and increasing the social skills of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The results of this research show that parent-child joint play can be used to reduce behavioral problems and increase the social skills of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.