THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COGNITIVE REHABILITATION ON REDUCING SELECTIVE ATTENTION DEFICIT IN OBSESSIVECOMPULSIVE DISORDER

Regarding the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder of all ages and its
adverse effects in childhood and adolescence, it is necessary to review and evaluate new therapies with
low complications and appropriate treatment effects. The purpose of the present study was to determine
the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation on reducing selective attention deficit in secondary
adolescent school girls with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Materials & Methods: This study was semi experimental with pretest, posttest and a control group. The
population of the study included all girls suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder in Koohdasht
high schools in the academic year of 2011-2012. After random selection of four high schools, screening
was conducted using obsessive-compulsive inventory questionnaire and interviewing; then 30 students
were selected by purposeful sampling. They were randomly assigned into two groups. From both groups,
the stroop color-word test was performed to measure selective attention; then a cognitive rehabilitation
program was conducted on the control group for 12 sessions.
Results: After intervention cognitive rehabilitation, interaction scores in selective attention in the
experimental group were significantly lower than the control group (P <0.001).
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that cognitive rehabilitation is effective in improving the
attentional attention of patients with OCD. Therefore, it is suggested that, in addition to psychological
interventions, cognitive rehabilitation interventions should be used as an integrated, applied and
supportive therapeutic approach along with psychotherapy by specialists in this field.