Effect of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Reduction Social and Emotional Maladjustment of Physically Abused Children: A Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background One of the most important and destructive forms of child abuse is the physical abuse which can lead to the maladjustment among abused children; the aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of trauma focused cognitive-behavioral therapy on reduction social and emotional maladjustment of physically abused children. Materials and Methods This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial. A number of 40 abused boys, who study in the elementary schools in Kermanshah-Iran, were selected by random cluster method, and randomly divided in intervention and control groups. Before and after Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF.CBT), the Sinha and Singh adjustment questionnaire were used to assess the level of social and emotional maladjustment. In the intervention group, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy was held in ten one-hour sessions. Results The results showed that after the intervention, the mean of social and emotional maladjustment was decreased significantly in the intervention group (P <0.001), while in the control group the mean of social and emotional maladjustment were not significantly different between pre-test and post-test. Conclusion At current study, results showed that TF. CBT reduced the social and emotional maladjustment among physically abused children.