Investigating the Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training on Sustained Attention, Self-Control, and Cognitive Flexibility in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Keywords:
Mindfulness training, sustained attention, self-control , cognitive flexibility, children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness training on sustained attention, self-control, and cognitive flexibility in children diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Methods and Materials: The research employed a quasi-experimental design with a pretest–posttest–follow-up structure and a control group. A sample of 30 male students aged 8 to 12 years with a clinical diagnosis of ADHD was selected through purposive sampling from a private clinical population. Participants were randomly assigned to experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. The experimental group received an 8-session mindfulness training protocol, each session lasting 90 minutes, based on developmentally appropriate exercises. Outcome measures included the Self-Control Scale (Tangney et al., 2004), the Continuous Performance Test (Rosvold et al., 1965) for sustained attention, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (Grant & Berg, 1984) for cognitive flexibility. Data were collected at three time points: pretest, posttest, and a two-month follow-up, and analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA.
Findings: Results showed significant group-by-time interaction effects for all three outcome variables (p < .001). Self-control scores increased significantly in the experimental group from pretest to posttest and remained stable at follow-up. Measures of sustained attention improved significantly, as evidenced by reductions in omission and commission errors and shorter reaction times (p < .001). Cognitive flexibility also showed statistically significant gains, with decreases in perseverative and total errors and increases in correct category classification (p < .001). Bonferroni post hoc tests confirmed that most improvements persisted at follow-up, indicating durable intervention effects.
Conclusion: Mindfulness training is an effective and sustainable intervention for improving executive functions—specifically self-control, sustained attention, and cognitive flexibility—in children with ADHD, offering a promising non-pharmacological treatment pathway.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Mahboobeh Moeini Saleh (Author); Naser Amini (Corresponding author); Moloud Keykhosravani (Author)
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