The Effectiveness of Parent-Child Play Therapy on Self-Esteem, Social Skills and Academic Performance in Students with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of parent-child play therapy on self-esteem, social skills, and academic performance in Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of the research included all Students with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder of the second period of Isfahan City in the academic year 2023-2024, of which 30 people (19 male students and 11 female students) were selected by convenience sampling method based on the entry criteria. They were randomly divided into experimental and control groups (15 people in each group). In order to collect information, Eysenck self-esteem inventory (ESI), social skills questionnaire (SSQ) and academic performance questionnaire (APQ) were used. The experimental group received 10 90-minute sessions of the parent-child play therapy program and the control group did not receive any program. To analyze the findings, univariate covariance analysis was used using SPSS-23 statistical software. The results showed that play therapy had a significant effect on increasing the level of self-esteem, social skills, and academic performance of Students with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (P<0.05). Therefore, it is suggested that specialists provide a basis for improving the self-esteem, social skills and academic performance of these children by establishing a parent-child play therapy training program.