The Effectiveness of Emotional Regulation Training on Negative Affect and Resilience of Mothers with Disabled Children

Anger, depression, sadness, despair, malice, strife, fear, anxiety, guilty feelings and incompatibility in mothers with disabled children may be more severe than normal mothers due to experiencing difficulty conditions and expectations beyond their ability. Therefore, managing emotions, reducing negative emotions and increasing the resilience can improve the mental status of mothers. According to this, the aim of this study was to the Effectiveness of emotional regulation training on the negative affect and resilience of mothers with disabled children in the city of Ashkezar. This study was a semi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test and with a control group. The statistical population included 267 mothers with disabled children in the Social Welfare Organization of Ashkezar. In order to training the emotional regulation, two groups of 15 people were randomly selected as the experimental group and the control group by purposeful sampling. The data was collected by Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) and Connor & Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). The experimental group received eight sessions (2 times 90 minutes in a week) of emotion regulation training and then both groups have completed the post-test. Data analysis was done by the most important descriptive statistics and Analysis of Covariance. The findings of this study showed that there is a significant difference between the mean scores of subjects in the experimental and control groups in the post-test. In other words, emotional regulation training reduces the mean of negative affect scores and increases the average scores of resilience in mothers with disabled children (P < 0.001). Emotional regulation training as an effective teaching method, can reduce negative affect in mothers with disabled children and increase resilience in them. Therefore, it can considered as a desirable and effective model for improving compatibility, happiness and well-being.