Efficacy of Training Psychodrama on the Impulsivity and Psychological Flexibility of the Students Engaged in Divorce With Externalized Behavior Problems

Subject Areas : Clinical psychology

Mahshid Shabani ¹ (PhD Candidate in Counseling Islamic Azad University Tehran North Branch)
Javad Khalatbari ² (Ph.D Islamic Azad University, Tonkabon Branch Tonkabon, Iran)
Shohreh Ghorban Shiroudi ³ (PhD Islamic Azad University Tonkabon Branch TonkabonbIran)

Received: 2023-03-06 Accepted : 2023-03-06 Published : 2022-09-23

Keywords: impulsivity, divorce, Psychological flexibility, externalized behavior problems,

Abstract :

The present study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of training psychodrama on the impulsivity and psychological flexibility of the students engaged in divorce with externalized behavior problems. The present study was quasi-experimental with pretest, posttest, control group and two-month follow-up period design. The statistical population of the present study included the students engaged in divorce with externalized behavior problems who were studying in the first high school in academic year 2020-21 in the city of Isfahan. 40 students engaged in divorce with externalized behavior problems were selected through purpo- sive sampling method and randomly accommodated into experimental and control groups (each group of 20 students). The experimen- tal group received ten seventy-five-minute sessions of training psychodrama (Khoobani et.al, 2013) during two-and-a-half months. 4 people from the experimental group and 3 people from the control group quitted participating in the study. The applied questionnaires in this study included Impulsivity Questionnaire (Barratt, Stanford, Kent & Felthous, 2004), Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire (Dennis & VanderWal, 2010) and Children and Adolescents Behavioral Inventory (Achenbach, & Rescorla, 2001). The data from the study were analyzed through repeated measurement ANOVA. The results showed that training psychodrama has significant effect on the impulsivity and psychological flexibility of the students engaged in divorce with externalized behavior problems (p<0.001). Ac- cording to the findings of the present study it can be concluded that training psychodrama can be used as an efficient method to decrease impulsivity and increase psychological flexibility in the students engaged in divorce with externalized behavior problems through employing techniques such as confrontation, showing feelings, emotional refinement and role playing.

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