The Effectiveness of Life Skills Training on Quality of Life in Mothers of Children with Down syndrome

This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of life skills training on quality of life in mothers of children with Down syndrome. This research was done as a semi-experimental with pre-post test and with control group. Statistical population included all children with down syndrome, age from 2 months to 8 years, and their mothers who referred to Iran''s down syndrome society. Thirty six children were randomly chosen and equally assigned to two groups: experimental and control group. The data were collected by using the demographic questionnaire and the short form of the World Health Organization Quality of Life. Experimental group was trained for life skills in 12 sessions, each session 60 minutes. Data were analyzed using SPSS-16 software and multivariate analysis of covariance test. The results indicate that the mean score of quality of life in the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group after intervention. According to the results, life skills training increased the quality of life in mothers of children with Down syndrome. Therefore the life skill training can be applied in mental health services for improving the quality of life in mothers of children with Down syndrome.