The effectiveness of painting therapy on anxiety and oppositional defiant disorder in children with mental retardation

Abstract Background and Purpose: The Purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of painting therapy on anxiety disorder and oppositional defiant disorder in children with mental retardation. Method: This research was a quasi-experimental method with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of the present study included children with mental disabilities in Tehran who received rehabilitation services In one of the clinics in Tehran in 2019-2020. Twenty eligible individuals were selected by purposive sampling method and randomly divided into two groups of control (ten people) and experimental group (ten people). The Parents' Anxiety Scale for Children (1997) was used. The experimental group received ten sessions of painting therapy (each session for ninety minutes) as a group and the control group did not receive any intervention. At the end of the course, post-test was performed for both experimental and control groups. Data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance in SPSS 20 software. Probability values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The results of research data showed that painting therapy is effective in reducing anxiety disorder (p<0.05). Also, this intervention has been effective in reducing oppositional defiant disorder (p <0.05). Conclusion: Based on the findings, it can be said that painting therapy is an effective method in improving anxiety disorder and oppositional defiant disorder in children with teachable mental disability.