Effects of Sensory Integration Training on Emotional-Behavioral Symptoms, Executive Function, and Attention in Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder.

Background: Oppositional defiant disorder is a type of disruptive behavior disorder that primarily involves difficulties with managing emotions and behaviors. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of sensory integration training in improving emotional-behavioral disorders, executive function, and attention enhancement among students with oppositional defiant disorder. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test design. A convenience sample of 30 students diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder in Kerman, Iran, between June and August 2023, was randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group (n=15 per group). The experimental group received sensory integration training twice a week, with 12 sessions lasting 60 minutes, while the control group received no intervention. The data were collected using the Coolidge Personality and Neuropsychological Inventory for Children (CPNI), the 18-item Oppositional Defiant Behavior Inventory (ODBI), the Behavioral Disorders Questionnaire (BDQ), and the Attentional Concentration Test (ACT; D2). Data were analyzed using paired t-tests for within-group comparisons and one-way ANOVA for between-group comparisons by SPSS version 25. Results: Following the intervention, mean scores increased from pre-test to post-test in executive function (38.4±7.4 to 42.5±7.7) and attention (37.6±10.7 to 40.1±11.0), while emotional-behavioral disorder scores showed a slight decrease (29.6±8.9 to 27.8±8.7). Moreover, one-way ANOVA demonstrated that sensory integration training led to significantly greater improvements in emotional-behavioral disorders (P=0.018), executive function (P=0.011), and attention (P=0.014) compared with the control group. Conclusions: The findings showed that sensory integration training is effective in reducing emotional-behavioral disorders, improving executive function, and strengthening attention in elementary school students in Kerman, Iran. Therefore, this intervention can be used to reduce the problems of children with oppositional defiant disorder.