Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Various Play Therapy Types on Behavioral Symptoms of Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to conduct a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of various types of play therapy on the behavioral symptoms of children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Methods and Materials: A meta-analysis method was employed based on the nature of the study. The statistical population consisted of articles and research conducted in this area. ADHD, behavioral symptoms, and play therapy were searched in various databases. The sampling method from this population was theoretical sampling. To search for Iranian research, only Persian sources and studies conducted in Iran were considered. These studies were published in scientific-research journals over the past decade (2011–2021) and examined various forms of play therapy on the behavioral symptoms of children with ADHD. They had an appropriate sample size and met methodological requirements (including hypothesis formulation, research design, statistical population, sample size and sampling method, measurement tools, statistical hypotheses, statistical analysis methods, and the correctness of statistical computations). A subset of the population under review was selected using a predetermined method. The statistical population in the second phase of the study, focusing on internal validation, included all specialists and experts in child play therapy for ADHD. The sample size in this section consisted of 8 specialists, selected through purposive sampling. A content analysis checklist was used in this study.

Findings: Results indicated that in the causal relationship between play therapy and children's behavioral symptoms, all effect sizes extracted were ranked based on Cohen's index, and to confirm significance, the statistical values p-value and t-value were reported. For all components, these indices were less than 0.05 (P < 0.05) and greater than 1.96, respectively.

Conclusion: Therefore, this therapeutic program can be utilized to reduce behavioral problems in these children.