Determining the Effect of Neurocognitive Music Therapy Intervention on the Social Adjustment of 7- to 12-Year-Old Orphaned and Abandoned Children Living in Tehran City, Iran

Kooshesh, Mohammad Reza; Noormohammadi , Farahnaz; Biglerian , Akbar

Volume 15 - Articles-1404 MEJDS (2025) 15: 66 | Back to browse issues page

Mendeley

Zotero

RefWorks

Kooshesh M R, Noormohammadi F, Biglerian A. Determining the Effect of Neurocognitive Music Therapy Intervention on the Social Adjustment of 7- to 12-Year-Old Orphaned and Abandoned Children Living in Tehran City, Iran. MEJDS 2025; 15 (0) :66-66
URL: http://jdisabilstud.org/article-1-3450-en.html

Determining the Effect of Neurocognitive Music Therapy Intervention on the Social Adjustment of 7- to 12-Year-Old Orphaned and Abandoned Children Living in Tehran City, Iran

Mohammad Reza Kooshesh¹

, Farahnaz Noormohammadi ^*²

, Akbar Biglerian³

1- PhD Student in Educational Psychology, Science and Research Unit, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2- Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
3- Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract: (389 Views)

Abstract

Background & Objective: The orphaned and abandoned children due to environmental poverty and deprivations of educational space and inappropriate and dangerous life caused by family harms including addiction and delinquency and the harms of child sexual abuse and frequent insecurities especially in the early years of life may develop serious problems in their social adaptation because they have not had the opportunity to acquire adaptive skills in a favorable environment. As a result, it is assumed that the music of neurological therapy is effective due to its interactive nature and the creation of sensory, motor, and group harmony. Due to deprivation and emotional damage before and after entering care centers, and their manifestation in the form of maladaptive behavior, orphaned and abandoned children face challenges and problems with people and their social environment, which leads to a lack of interaction on the one hand and, on the other hand, to a significant increase in costs for society. So, this study was conducted to determine the effect of neurocognitive music therapy intervention on the social adjustment of 7– to 12–year–old orphaned and abandoned children living in Tehran City, Iran.

Methods: This experimental study employed a pretest–posttest and a follow–up design with a control group. In two quasi–family centers in Tehran, 32 children aged 7 to 12 years, who were qualified volunteers, were included in the study using a random sampling method. They were then randomly assigned to two groups, with an equal number in each control and experimental group. The inclusion criteria were being orphaned and abandoned children, having been present at the center for at least three years, and being between 7 and 12 years old. The exclusion criteria included the presence of psychological disorders such as depression, participation in other music interventions, and irregular participation in educational classes. The intervention of music therapy was designed, and its internal validity was calculated by a music expert over 20 sessions of the music program. Every week, two 45–minute sessions were held for the experimental group over a period of three months. A neurocognitive music therapy intervention design was conducted, yielding a content validity ratio (CVR) of 0.89 and a content validity index (CVI) of 0.62. The Social Skill Rating System (Gresham & Elliott, 1990) was used to evaluate social adjustment. To analyze the collected data, descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation, as well as inferential statistics including independent t test, repeated measures analysis of variance, and Bonferroni post hoc test were performed through SPSS software version 25 and at a significance level of 0.05.

Results: The results of repeated measures analysis of variance indicated that the neurocognitive music therapy intervention caused a significant trend change in the social adjustment of children in the experimental group (p=0.005). The group effect size showed that 24.6% of the mean increase in the experimental group was affected by the musical intervention. Bonferroni post hoc test to examine the effect of time showed that the average social adjustment at different times was significant (pretest and posttest, p=0.001; pretest and follow–up, p=0.003; posttest and follow–up, p=0.008).

Conclusion: The findings showed that the neurocognitive music intervention has a significant effect on social adjustment. This intervention can be effectively used in care centers for abandoned and orphaned children.

Keywords: Social adjustment, Neurocognitive music therapy, Orphaned and abandoned children, Gresham and Elliott Social Skill Rating System.

Full-Text [PDF 285 kb] (144 Downloads)

Type of Study: Original Research Article | Subject: Psychology

References

1. Lewis DMG, Al-Shawaf L, Conroy-Beam D, Asao K, Buss DM. Evolutionary psychology: A how-to guide. Am Psychol. 2017;72(4):353–73. [DOI]

2. Berzenski SR, Bennett DS, Marini VA, Sullivan MW, Lewis M. the role of parental distress in moderating the influence of child neglect on maladjustment. J Child Fam Stud. 2014;23(8):1325–36. [DOI]

3. Rezaei S, Goudarzi M, Ali Madadi K. Effectiveness of life skills empowerment model training on increasing self-esteem and solving social problems in children under the supervision of round-the-clock care centers (age range from 6 to 12 years) in Kermanshah city. Empowering Exceptional Children. 2022;13(3):34–43. [Persian] [Article]

4. Worku BN, Abessa TG, Franssen E, Vanvuchelen M, Kolsteren P, Granitzer M. Development, social-emotional behavior and resilience of orphaned children in a family-oriented setting. J Child Fam Stud. 2018;27(2):465–74. [DOI]

5. Hasan SR. Psychological absence of the father and its relationship to the social adjustment among the children residing in the orphanage in Erbil city. Qalaai Zanist Scientific Journal. 2023;8(3):1211–38. [DOI]

6. Yaqoob T, Qamar T, Yasin A. Loneliness, coping and socio-emotional adjustment among orphans. Education Sciences and Psychology. 2021;3(60):50–3.

7. Mohammadi Shemirani S, Saadipour E, Dortaj F, Ebrahimi Qavam S, Falsafinejad MR. effectiveness of play-based resilience training package on children’s social adjustment. Journal of Research in Behavioural Sciences. 2020;18(2):213–26. [Persian] [Article]

8. Stegemann T. Music therapy for children and adolescents – a brief overview. Music and Medicine. 2023;15(4). [DOI]

9. Goldstein S, Naglieri JA. Handbook of executive functioning. Springer; 2014.

10. Thaut MH, Hoemberg V. Handbook of neurologic music therapy. USA: Oxford University Press; 2014.

11. Lidyawati Y. Finding balance with music: music therapy as a tool for recovery and increasing welfare for orphans of covid-19 victims. Prehosp Disaster med. 2023;38(5):689–90. [DOI]

12. Gresham FM & Elliott SN. Social skills rating system manual. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service; 1990.

13. Shahim S. Standardization of social skills rating system for preschool children. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology. 2005;11(2):176–86. [Persian] [Article]

14. Shahim S. Investigating social skills in a group of educable mentally retarded children using a social skills rating system. Psychology and Educational Sciences. 1999;4(1):18–37. [Persian] [Article]

15. Lawshe CH. A quantitative approach to content validity. Personnel Psychology. 1975;28(4):563–75.. [DOI]

16. Lynn MR. Determination and quantification of content validity. Nursing Research. 1986;35(6):382-5.

17. Blanky-Voronov R, Gilboa A. The “ensemble”—a group music therapy treatment for developing preschool children’s social skills. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(15):9446. [DOI]

18. Rodriguez-Gomez DA, Talero-Gutiérrez C. Effects of music training in executive function performance in children: a systematic review. Front Psychol. 2022;13:968144. [DOI]

19. Jacob US, Edozie IS, Pillay J. Strategies for enhancing social skills of individuals with intellectual disability: a systematic review. Front Rehabil Sci. 2022;3:968314. [DOI]

20. Aghili M, Asghari A, Namazi M. The effectiveness of music therapy on aggression and stereotypical behaviors of 9-11 years old autism children. Journal of Exceptional Children. 2022;22(1):10. [Persian] [Article]

21. Mehrafza M, Nokhostin Goldoost A, Kiamarsi A. The effectiveness of music therapy on attention and concentration, social adjustment and aggression of students with intellectual disability. Journal of Family and Health. 2021;11(2):117–35. [Persian]

22. Bharathi G, Venugopal A, Vellingiri B. Music therapy as a therapeutic tool in improving the social skills of autistic children. Egypt J Neurol Psychiatr Neurosurg. 2019;55(1):44. [DOI]

23. Mansouri A, Naseri A. Effects of music therapy on social skills of educable children with intellectual disability. International Journal of Science and Research Archive. 2023;9(2):749–59. [DOI]

24. Elkoshi R. Exploring a music-based intervention entitled “portrait song” in school music therapy. Voices. 2021;21(3). [DOI]

25. Bae S, Kim K. Group music therapy involving creation of a musical play to improve self-esteem, self-expression, and social skills in children. Journal of Music and Human Behavior. 2020;17(1):51–70. [DOI]

26. Gooding LF. The effect of a music therapy social skills training program on improving social competence in children and adolescents with social skills deficits. J Music Ther. 2011;48(4):440–62. [DOI]

27. Porter S, McConnell T, McLaughlin K, Lynn F, Cardwell C, Braiden H, et al. Music therapy for children and adolescents with behavioural and emotional problems: a randomised controlled trial. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2017;58(5):586–94. [DOI]