Effectiveness of Optimism-Based Training on Depression of Mothers of Children with Special Needs

the presence of a child with special needs in the family generally creates a context for changing the behaviors of the family members. Since having a child with special needs can be considered a significant psychological burden which causes the expression of various emotions and behaviors, the current study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of optimism-based training on the depression of the mothers of the children with special needs in Kermanshah City in 2018.

the current study is a semi-experimental controlled study with a pretest-posttest scheme. The statistical population of the study includes all the mothers of children with special needs who are covered by the State Welfare Organization of Kermanshah City. Using randomized cluster sampling, 285 mothers were selected to fill out the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). Among those who completed the inventory, 30 mothers with the highest depression scores were chosen and then allocated randomly to two 15-member groups, i.e. the experimental and control groups. The members of the experimental group received ten 120- minute sessions of optimism-based training intervention, with one session per week. The obtained data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) statistical test.

the results indicate that optimism-based training is effective for reducing the depression of the mothers of children with special needs (𝐹 = 16.14, 𝑃 < 0.001).

optimism-based interventions can be effective in reducing the depression of mothers of children with special needs. Therefore, the application of such interventions in all rehabilitation centers for children with special needs by the State Welfare Organization can be influential in preventing psychological damage to the mothers.