The Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Depression, Anxiety, Life Orientation and Happiness of Mothers of ADHD Children

The purpose of this study was to achieve a non-pharmacological effective way to modify behavioral problems in mothers with ADHD children. The statistical population at Qom city was determined by a general call for mothers with ADHD children, and 20 subjects were selected as samples through simple random sampling.
The research samples were randomly assigned into two equal groups of experimental and control group, and pre-test, post-test and follow-up tests were conducted on them. The experimental group experienced aerobic training 8 weeks, per week 3 sessions for 45 minutes. Anxiety and depression questionnaires of DASS-21 (1995) and life orientation of Sheyer & Carver (1985) and Happiness of Oxford (1989) were used. The ANCOVA’s statistical model was used to analyze data. The findings showed that aerobic exercise in the posttest and follow-up stages reduced the depression and anxiety of mothers of ADHD children and increased their life orientation and happiness in the experimental group. According to the findings of this study, it is suggested that aerobic exercises be used as an appropriate therapeutic strategy, free of side effects, and available to improve the physical and mental health of mothers with ADHD children.