Document Type : Original Article
Researcher
Master's student in Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran
Ministerial Ethics Committee
This study aims to determine the effectiveness of narrative therapy on the personal narratives of 6-9 year old children with oppositional defiant disorder, considering the mediating role of theory of mind. Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is associated with problems in interpreting social information and deficits in theory of mind, which lead to numerous academic, occupational, and social problems in children. Given the importance of theory of mind in understanding social interactions and its deficits in children with ODD, and on the other hand, the ability of narrative therapy to reconstruct negative narratives and strengthen mental processes, this study seeks to answer the question of whether narrative therapy can help improve personal narratives and reduce negative behaviors in these children by mediating theory of mind?
The research method is a pre-test-post-test experimental study with a control group.
A sample of the statistical population who received a diagnosis based on the ODDRS scale is selected purposively. Then, they will be randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. The experimental group will receive one 45-minute narrative therapy session per week for 16 weeks, while the control group will not receive any intervention.
The measurement tools include the ODDRS scale and picture cards and situations designed by the researcher to measure theory of mind. The analysis of covariance model will be used to analyze the data, and the Sobel test will be used to measure the mediating effect of theory of mind. This research will not only help expand the theoretical foundations in the field of ODD and theory of mind, but also can be a basis for designing more effective psychological interventions for these children.