The effectiveness of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program in improving self-management skills and reducing social anxiety in hyperactive adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Authors
Arshida Sayadi
Fatemeh Houshmand
Seyedeh Reyhaneh Hashemi
Tara Sotvar
Arsalan Barekat
Abstract
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adolescence is associated with persistent deficits in self-regulation, poor self-management skills, and increased social-emotional problems, including social anxiety. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program on self-management skills and social anxiety in adolescents with ADHD. The study was conducted in a quasi-experimental manner with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group and a two-month follow-up. The study population included adolescents aged 13 to 15 years with this disorder, 30 of whom were selected using a convenience method and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in eight 90-minute sessions of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program, while the control group was on a waiting list. The research instruments included the Adolescent Self-Management Questionnaire and the Adolescent Social Anxiety Scale, which were administered in three stages: pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. Data were analyzed using repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance. The results showed that the implementation of the mindfulness-based stress reduction program significantly increased self-management skills and significantly reduced social anxiety in the experimental group compared to the control group, and these effects remained largely stable at the two-month follow-up. Based on the findings, the mindfulness-based stress reduction program can be used as a complementary and effective intervention in improving cognitive-behavioral functions and reducing social-emotional problems in adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Keywords
mindfulness-based stress reduction
self-management skills
social anxiety
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
adolescents
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