Effectiveness of Strategies of Excitement Process Management on the Impulsivity of Adolescent Girls with Oppositional Defiant Disorder: A Single Case Study

Aim and Emotion regulation is a key factor in determination of health and successful performance in social interactions and its effect on exocrine dysfunction is of particular importance due to the flexible nature of adolescence and foundations of adult behavioral patterns. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of excitement process management strategies on the impulsivity of adolescent girls with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).
Methods and Materials: In the present study, 3 subjects were selected using purposive sampling method from among all 14-18 year old adolescents with ODD in schools of Najafabad (Isfahan, Iran). This study was implemented within the framework of a single-subject experimental design using stepwise multiple baseline design. After baseline, excitement process management strategies were presented to subjects based on Gross model during 8 individual intervention sessions. After one month, follow-up was conducted during 3 consecutive months. Using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS), the subjects were assessed 11 times (4 times for baseline, 4 for intervention, and 3 for follow-up). The indexes of process changes, slope, and effect size, Cohen's coefficient, and interpretation of ups and downs were presented in SPSS software.
Findings: The intervention reduced the subject's impulsiveness scores. Review of the effect coefficient size and the effectiveness charts indicates the remarkable and significant effect of intervention intensity for all three subjects in all studied variables.
The results showed that excitement process management strategies are effective on the impulsivity of adolescent girls with ODD. Therefore, it has satisfactory practical implications in the treatment and prevention of ODD.