Introduction and goal: Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is one of the disorders that lead to many problems for children and teenagers. This research was conducted with the aim of the effectiveness of attachment-based play therapy on the perception of social competence and academic enthusiasm in children with symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Research methodology: The research was semi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design with two experimental and control groups. The statistical population included all boys aged 6 to 10 years from the counseling and psychological services center in Shiraz city in 2024, 30 people were selected by available sampling method and replaced in two equal groups of 15 people. The attachment-oriented play therapy program was applied in 8 sessions as a group and one session per week for the experimental group. Social competence questionnaire (Felner et al., 1990) and academic enthusiasm (Fredericks et al., 2004) were used to collect information. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics methods, statistical assumptions and multivariate covariance analysis with SPSS-26 statistical software.
Findings: The results showed that the attachment-oriented play therapy program increased the total score of social competence (F=119.602, P=0.000 and η=0.533) and the total score of academic enthusiasm (F=110.382, P=0.000 and η=0.512) had a significant effect (P<0.05).
Conclusion: According to the results, it is necessary to use play therapy in clinics and psychological service centers as an effective intervention method to reduce psychological, behavioral and academic problems of children and adolescents.