Background and Purpose: Conduct Disorder (CD) is characterized by patterns of aggression, rule-breaking, impulsivity, and diminished empathy, and is frequently associated with deficits in the motivational structure of adolescents. The present study was conducted with the aim of designing an intervention program based on the life narrative analysis of adolescents with CD and determining its effectiveness in modifing their motivational structure.
Method: The present study employed mixed-methods research design (qualitative and quantitative). In the qualitative phase, the research population included adolescents aged 12 to 15 with CD in the Shush neighborhood of Tehran in 2024 (2024/2025). Purposive sampling was utilized until data saturation was reached, involving 6 adolescents as the study sample. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews using a descriptive phenomenological approach and analyzed via Giorgi’s method. To establish the content validity of the intervention, the Delphi method was employed, incorporating the perspectives of 6 experts. In the quantitative phase, the efficacy of the intervention program was examined using a quasi-experimental design with an experimental group and a control group across three stages: pre-test, post-test, and a 2-week follow-up. A sample of 27 adolescents with CD from the Shush neighborhood was selected purposively, with 14 participants assigned to the experimental group and 13 to the control group. The experimental group received 12 sessions of narrative-based intervention, while the control group received no intervention. The research instrument consisted of the latest validated Iranian version of the Personal Motivational Structure Questionnaire (MSQ) (Cox & Klinger, 2004), long form. Quantitative data were analyzed using repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Bonferroni post-hoc tests, and SPSS-27 software.
Results: In the qualitative phase, 8 primary themes were found: mindfulness, identity formation, empathy and theory of mind (ToM), perceived self-efficacy in coping mechanisms, attachment patterns, emotion regulation strategies, and anger management. The life narrative analysis-based intervention program was developed over 12 sessions. The Content Validity Ratio (CVR) ranged from a minimum of 0.75 to a maximum of 1, and the Content Validity Index (CVI) was calculated at 0.9. In the quantitative phase, results indicated that the designed intervention program had a significant effect on the dimensions of motivational structure, including desire (F = 6.63, p = 0.003), control (F = 5.25, p = 0.022), information (F = 7.09, p = 0.002), effort (F = 12.58, p = 0.001), chance (F = 4.29, p = 0.021), satisfaction (F = 14.05, p = 0.001), commitment (F = 6.28, p = 0.001), and required time (F = 9.55, p = 0.001). Furthermore, these effects remained stable during the follow-up stage.
Conclusion: The results of the study demonstrated that narrative-based intervention improves the motivational structure of adolescents by reconstructing life narratives, modifying attributional styles, increasing emotion regulation, enhancing cognitive processing, and strengthening internal reward systems. Therefore, it is recommended that clinicians utilize life narrative reconstruction techniques-including letter writing and life mapping-to fortify identity and reduce the symptoms of CD. |
