The Comparison of the Effectiveness of Child-Centered Mindfulness Therapy and the Role of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Emotional-Cognitive Empathy of Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Experiencing Bullying in Isfahan

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is considered a serious problem in educational environments and has significant negative impacts on the psychological well-being of students. The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of child-centered mindfulness therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy on emotional-cognitive empathy of primary school students with ADHD experiencing bullying.

This semi-experimental study was conducted in 2023 using a pre-test and post-test design with a control group and a two-month follow-up over a six-month period in Isfahan city. A purposive sampling method was employed, and 54 boy students aged 9-11 years meeting the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to three groups of 18 participants including child-centered mindfulness therapy (N=18), acceptance and commitment therapy (N=18), and a control group (N=18). Data were collected using the child and adolescent empathy questionnaire. Participants in the first group received child-centered mindfulness therapy in 10 60-minute sessions, conducted twice a week, while participants in the second experimental group received acceptance and commitment therapy in 9 60-minute sessions, conducted twice a week. By the end of the study, 15 participants remained in each group. Data analysis was performed using repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc tests, utilizing SPSS software version 26.

The results indicated that both child-centered mindfulness therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy were effective in enhancing emotional empathy (p<0/05) and cognitive empathy (p<0/05).This effectiveness was also maintained at the follow-up stage (p< 0/05). However, no significant differences were observed between the effectiveness of the interventions (p>0/05).

The results of this study indicated that both child-centered mindfulness therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy significantly affected emotional and cognitive empathy in students with ADHD and can be utilized by therapists.