The Effectiveness of Psychodrama-mediated Optimism on Bullying, Interpersonal Relations, and Subjective Vitality among Students with Oppositional Defiant Disorder

The present study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of psychodrama-mediated optimism on bullying, interpersonal relations and subjective vitality in students with oppositional defiant disorder. This study employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up with a control group. Then, 30 subjects were purposively selected among high school students aged 14-16 years old with an oppositional defiant disorder in Isfahan in 2020 and were randomly assigned to two groups of 15 as the experimental and the control groups. The Bullying Questionnaire, the Relationship Quality Questionnaire, and the Subjective Vitality Scale were used to collect data. The experimental group received optimism training for 12 sessions. At the end of the training, the questionnaires were administered again to both groups as a post-test. They were followed up a month later. Data analysis was conducted by applying repeated measures. The results showed that teaching psychodrama-mediated optimism had a significant effect on bullying, the quality of interpersonal relationships, and mental vitality among students with oppositional defiant disorder. Therefore, this intervention can improve bullying behavior, the quality of relationships, and the mental vitality of these students.