The Effect of Psychodrama on Body Mass Index, Self-Esteem and Cognitive Regulation of Emotion in Obese Female Children

Aim and The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of psychodrama on body mass index, self-esteem and cognitive emotion regulation in obese female children.
Methods and Materials: This experimental study was conducted with experimental and control groups. A pretest and a posttest were performed and the process was followed up for 3 months. The sample was comprised of twenty four 10-12-years-old girl students who were obese with body mass index of more than 25 kg/m2 in 2015. They were selected through cluster-random sampling from a school in the first district of Isfahan city, Iran. The mothers of both groups were trained about the principles of healthy feeding in 4 sessions. Psychodrama intervention was applied only in the experimental group during six 2-hour sessions of group therapy. The data collection tools were consisted of the body mass index scale and Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance with repeated measures.
Findings: The effects of psychodrama on body mass index and self-esteem of the test group were statistically significant (P 0.05).
The results of this study showed that the therapeutic intervention of psychodrama would be helpful to reduce weight in obese children and to increase their self-esteem.