Comparing the effectiveness of teaching distress tolerance techniques and parent behavioral training on reducing symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder in children with oppositional defiant disorder in Esfahan

Abstract

The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of distress tolerance skills training and parent behavioral training on the symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in children diagnosed with ODD. This research was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest–posttest–follow-up design and a control group and was applied in nature. The statistical population included mothers of children aged 7 to 12 years with ODD living in Isfahan in 2023, from whom 60 participants were purposefully selected and randomly assigned to three groups of 20 each. The research instrument was the Child Symptom Inventory-4 (CSI-4). Measurements were conducted at the pretest stage, posttest stage (after 8 weeks of distress tolerance skills training and parent behavioral training interventions), and follow-up stage (3 months after the posttest). Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and repeated measures ANOVA with SPSS version 25. The results indicated that distress tolerance training and parent behavioral training had a statistically significant effect on reducing oppositional defiant behaviors in children (p = .001). Furthermore, the results revealed no statistically significant difference between the two interventions regarding their impact on ODD symptoms in children (p = .130). However, the effect size of parent behavioral training was greater than that of distress tolerance skills training. It is recommended to use educational protocols based on distress tolerance skills training and parent behavioral training to reduce ODD symptoms in children.