the role of parent-child interaction therapy and mindfulness-based therapy on the behavioral problems of students with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder

Background: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (adhd) is a serious behavioral disorder with considerable personal and social consequences, including significant emotional distress among elementary school students and their caregivers. the present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of parent-child interaction therapy (pcit) and mindfulness-based therapy (mbt) on the behavioral problems of students with adhd in ahvaz, iran in 2020. methods: this pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study included two experimental groups and a control group. the statistical population comprised all children aged 6-12 years visiting psychology and psychiatry clinics in ahvaz, iran who were diagnosed with adhd by specialists. a sample of 45 children was conveniently selected and randomly allocated to two experimental groups and a control one. the first experimental group underwent twelve sessions (60-minutes sessions per week) of pcit. moreover, the mbt was performed on the second experimental group for twelve 60-minute sessions, and the control group did not receive any intervention. the research instrument included the child symptom inventory (csi-4). analysis of covariance in spss version 24 was used to analyze the data. results: the pcit and mbt significantly mitigated the behavioral problems of the students with adhd, including adhd signs and symptoms, opposition and defiance, social anxiety, and separation anxiety (p<0.001). the pcit was significantly superior to the mbt in the mitigation of adhd signs and symptoms (p<0.001). conclusion: as the findings supported the effectiveness of pcit and mbt on the behavioral problems of students with adhd, workshops should be held on the treatment of behavioral problems in these students.