Effectiveness of Metacognitive Therapy in Behavioral-Emotional Problem, Cognitive-Emotional Regulation Strategies, and Mind Wandering of 9 to 13-Year-Old Children with ADHD: A Quasi-experimental Study

Abstract

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in school-aged children. Objectives: This study assessed the effectiveness of metacognitive therapy in behavioral-emotional problems, cognitive-emotional regulation strategies, and mind wandering in children with ADHD. Methods: This quasi-experimental study utilized a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population comprised all students referred to the West Health Center of Ahvaz in 2019. A sample of 45 patients was selected and randomly divided into intervention (MCT, n = 15) and control (n = 15) groups. The experimental group underwent eight sessions (90-minute sessions per week) of MCT, and the control group did not receive any intervention. The research instruments included the Cognitive-Emotional Regulation Questionnaire-children form (CERQ-K-P), Rutter Children Behavior Questionnaire (RCBQ), and Mind Wandering Questionnaire (MWQ). Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data. Results: The participants included 30 children aged 10.92 ± 2.02 years. In the experimental group, the average score of behavioral-emotional disorder changed from 30.78 to 24.14, cognitive-emotional regulation strategies from 58.34 to 69.43, and mental wandering from 78.18 to 85.14. In the control group, the average score of RCBQ changed from 29.17 to 30.58, CERQ-K-P from 54.5 to 52.34, and MWQ from 19.77 to 19.87. The MCT effectively reduced behavior-emotional problems and mind wandering and improved cognitive-emotional regulation strategies in children with ADHD (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Metacognitive therapy improved behavioral-emotional problems, cognitive-emotional regulation strategies, and mind wandering in ADHD children. Therefore, metacognitive and psychiatric treatments are recommended for these patients.

Effectiveness of Transdiagnostic Therapy in Behavioral-Emotional Disorder and Excessive Mind Wandering in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…When someone's mind becomes preoccupied with internal, unrelated thoughts and images instead of focusing on their main work, it is known as mind wandering (MW). Mind wandering is a prevalent experience that constitutes up to 50% of our daily thinking time (10). Two types of MW -deliberate and spontaneous -are believed to reflect different balancing mechanisms between internal self-regulating thought systems (11).…”