The Effect of Neurofeedback Training on Anxiety in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

IntroductionAnxiety is particularly important in hyperactive children and neurofeedback is being used as a relatively new therapeutic approach for the treatment of diseases and disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of neurofeedback training on the anxiety of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.MethodThis study was a quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test with a control group. The statistical population included all children with ADHD referred to Parsian Hospital Counseling Center in the year ۱۳۹۸. A total of ۴۰ children were selected by convenience sampling and randomly assigned to two groups (each group of ۲۰). The experimental group was trained in neurofeedback method for ۱۲ sessions of ۶۰ minutes. The Cattell Anxiety Inventory was used for data collection. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version ۱۹ using a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA).ResultsThe results showed that the mean and standard deviation of anxiety in the neurofeedback group was ۸۴ / ۴۷ ± ۴/۲۴ before the intervention, but after the intervention, the mean and standard deviation of anxiety in the neurofeedback group changed to ۱۸ / ۳۶ ± ۳.۸۳. The results also showed that neurofeedback training significantly reduced anxiety in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (p<۰.۰۰۱).ConclusionsEvaluation of the effectiveness of treatment on anxiety in overactive children showed that neurofeedback decreased anxiety in the whole experimental group. According to the results of this study, it is recommended that therapists and clinical psychologists use neurofeedback training to reduce anxiety in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.