ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This research compared the effectiveness of play therapy provided individually or in groups for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms among children. METHODS: This was a randomized controlled trial that used a multi-stage random sampling method. Participants included 45 children aged 6 to 10 years old with ODD, all of whom had been referred to medical consultation centers in Ahvaz, Iran in 2012. Experimental groups consisted of 15 children receiving individual play therapy and 15 receiving group play therapy, while the control group consisted of 15 randomly selected children. Data were collected using the child behavior checklist parent report form and teacher report form, along with clinical interviews with the parents. Play therapy took place weekly for eight total sessions; individual sessions lasted 45 minutes each, while group sessions were each 60 minutes in duration. Participants were assessed in three stages, including pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at 2-month follow-up. PASW SPSS ver. 18.0 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) and analysis of covariance analysis methods were used to analyze data. RESULTS: Results showed meaningful decreases in ODD symptoms in the experimental groups in comparison with the control group, based on parent reporting (P≤0.001 and F=129.40) and the teacher reports additionally showed meaningful decreases in ODD symptoms in the experimental groups compared to the control group, (P≤0.001 and F=93.14). Furthermore, the effects were maintained after 2 months. CONCLUSION: This research supports the efficacy of individual and group play therapy for the treatment of ODD in children, as well as the consistency of the effects at 2-month follow-up.