Relationship between attachment to God and meaningful life parents of mentally retarded children in Zahedan city

Birth of a mentally-retarded child affectes the quality of life of parents, and accepting the facts, patience, and tolerance when dealing with problems depend greatly on the parents’ worldview. In this regard, the present study was planned to assess the relationship between appeal to God and meaningful life of parents of mentally retarded children in Zahedan city. This is a descriptive - correlational study and its population were parents of mentally-retarded children who had referred to Zahedan welfare organization between Septembers to November 2012 out of whom 125 parents were selected by targeted sampling method. The study instruments included measures of appeal style to God (Larson and Ghobari، 2009) and meaningful life scale (Battista & Almond, 1973). The scores were analyzed using Spearman correlation coefficient and multiple regression by SPSS17. parent’s appeal to God and meaningful life were relatively desirable. There was a significant positive correlation between appeal to God and meaningful life. Multiple regression results showed that from subscales of appeal to God, maintaining proximity to God, God as a secure base, and positive own perception can explain and predict the meaningful life of these parents. Given a significant positive correlation between appeal to God and meaningful life, it is suggested including spirituality therapy sessions and teaching religious coping methods to reduce stress and thus make meaningful life in these parents by welfare, education of exceptional children, and radio and television organizations.