The Effectiveness of Mindfulness on Behavior Inhibition, Self -Control and High- Risk Behaviors in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Adolescents

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a developmental neurological disorder characterized by several symptoms including impulsive behavior and inability to attention. To reduce such symptoms, it is necessary to use appropriate psychological therapies. Accordingly, the present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness on behavioral inhibition, self-control, and high-risk behaviors in adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Methods and Materials: 

The study method was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design including a control group and a three-month follow-up period. The statistical population of this study included adolescent boys aged 13 to 18, with ADHD who had been admitted to the social emergency of the city of Shiraz city in the year 2019. Thirty adolescents with ADHD were selected through psychiatric evaluation and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) through convenience sampling after which they were randomly divided into experimental and control groups (with 15 individuals in each). The experimental group received mindfulness-based intervention during two and a half months which included ten 90-minute sessions while the control group did not experience training and remained on the waiting list. The questionnaires used in this study included the Go/No-Go test, the Tangney self-control questionnaire, and the Iranian adolescents’ risk-taking questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS-26 software in two sections, namely descriptive (mean and standard deviation), and inferential (analysis of variance with repeated measures).

The results showed that mindfulness-based intervention had a significant effect on behavioral inhibition and increased self-control, and it reduces high-risk behavior in adolescents with ADHD (P<0/01).

Based on the results of the present study, it is safe to say that mindfulness-based therapy improved behavioral inhibition, increased self-control, and reduced high-risk behavior in adolescents with ADHD. Accordingly, this treatment is suggested to be used along with other approaches to reduce the symptoms of people with ADHD.