Faridehsadat Hoseini

This study compares the effect of play therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on students’ concentration after the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2022. The research design was semi-experimental with two experimental groups and one control group, along with pre-test and post-test. Students in the fourth grade of Alishahr All-Girls Primary School comprised the statistical population of the research, 45 of whom were selected by random two-stage cluster sampling, with 15 randomly placed in each of the play therapy, mindfulness and control groups. The control group did not receive any training. The D2 test of attention (Brickenkamp, 2002) was used. Each experimental group received special training during 8 weekly one-hour sessions. ANCOVA showed that MBSR explains 0.28 of the variance in attention, and unlike play therapy for anxiety reduction (r = 0.90), has a significant positive effect on attention. This study has important theoretical and practical implications for mindfulness in relation to concentration.