The Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Perceived Social Support and Childhood Trauma in Patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and is associated not only with attention and impulsivity problems but also with emotional difficulties, low perceived social support, and traumatic childhood experiences. The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy on perceived social support and childhood trauma in patients with ADHD.

Methodology: This study employed a semi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, control group, and follow-up stages. The statistical population consisted of all children with ADHD referred to counseling centers in Tehran during the 2023–2024 academic year. Thirty participants were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The research instruments included the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support developed by Zimet et al. (1988) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire developed by Bernstein et al. (1994). The experimental group received cognitive behavioral therapy for four weeks, with three 60-minute sessions per week, whereas the control group received no intervention. Data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate analysis of covariance in SPSS software.

Findings: The findings indicated that the mean score of perceived social support in the experimental group increased from 28.40 in the pre-test to 31.87 in the post-test, while the mean childhood trauma score decreased from 83.80 to 77.40. Multivariate analysis of covariance revealed a significant difference between the two groups regarding the combined dependent variables (P<0.001; η²=0.76). Furthermore, univariate ANCOVA demonstrated that cognitive behavioral therapy significantly increased perceived social support (P<0.001; η²=0.59) and significantly reduced childhood trauma (P<0.001; η²=0.55) in the experimental group compared to the control group.

Conclusion: The results of the present study demonstrated that cognitive behavioral therapy can serve as an effective intervention for improving perceived social support and reducing emotional consequences related to childhood trauma in patients with ADHD. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating structured psychological interventions alongside pharmacological treatments to improve the quality of life and psychosocial adjustment of these patients.