ABSTRACT
Introduction: Adolescent aggression, by reinforcing maladaptive defense styles, disrupts normal developmental pathways. Considering the role of the olfactory system in cognitive-emotional processing, utilizing innovative combined interventions to further improve defensive functioning deserves attention. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of adding olfactory training to Davanloo's Dynamic Psychotherapy on defense styles in Aggressive Adolescents.
Methods: This study employed a comparative single-case experimental design with a parallel treatment design. The study population consisted of all aggressive adolescent boys in Juybar County during the 2024-2025 academic year, from which 8 participants with a mean age of 14.37 and an aggression score above 78 were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to two intervention groups. Data collection was conducted using the Aggression Questionnaire and the Defense Style Questionnaire. Both groups received 13 sessions of Davanloo's Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP)-based emotional interventions, with the key distinction that the second group additionally received complementary olfactory training.
Results: Based on the Reliable Change Index (RCI ≥ 1.96), Davanloo's Dynamic Psychotherapy showed statistically significant effects on mature, immature, and neurotic defense styles in the first group, though these improvements were not clinically significant for any of them. However, the addition of olfactory training to these interventions in the second group resulted in improvements in defense styles that were both statistically and clinically significant.
Discussion and Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, adding olfactory training to Davanloo's Dynamic Psychotherapy improves defense mechanisms in aggressive adolescents by facilitating functional connections between olfactory pathways and emotional centers.