The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment group training on anxiety, hope and optimism of mothers with children with special learning disorder

Children's learning disorder has a negative impact on the family, especially mothers. The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment group training on anxiety, hope and optimism of mothers with children with special learning disabilities. This research was of quasi-experimental type and its population was all mothers with special learning children in Tabriz city. 30 samples of mothers were selected by available sampling method and were randomly divided into two groups (15 people in the control group, 15 people in the experimental group). To collect research data, Snyder et al.'s Hope Questionnaire (1991), Spielberger's Anxiety Questionnaire (1970), and Scheer and Carver's Optimism Questionnaire (1985) were used in a post- Test and pre-test were used. For the experimental group, the acceptance and commitment group training protocol (Dosti et al., 2017, Harris, 2009; Amin Zadeh, 2018) was used in six 45-minute sessions. The results showed that education based on acceptance and commitment has a significant effect on reducing anxiety and increasing optimism and hope of mothers. Based on the findings, it can be said that the existence of a child with a special learning disorder affects the family environment, especially mothers experience many psychological problems. Since the treatment based on acceptance and commitment leads to psychological flexibility and a person's commitment to perform actions that make life complete, rich and meaningful for him; It can be used as an effective intervention method to increase hope and optimism and reduce anxiety in mothers with children with special learning disorders.