The Role of Mindfulness in the Relation between Communication Skills with Cognitive Ability, Problem Solving, and Psychological Well-being in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between communication skills with cognitive abilities, problem-solving, and psychological well-being and the mediating role of mindfulness in these relationships as a model for mothers of students with autism spectrum disorders.

For this purpose, applied research of descriptive-correlation type with structural equation design was conducted. The study population consisted of 571 mothers whose children with autism spectrum disorders were studying in special schools for autism (11 schools) and schools for autism spectrum disorders (5 schools) in Tehran and were responsible for the birth and maintenance of their children. Among the above schools, 7 schools were selected by random cluster sampling method and the mothers of all students with autism spectrum disorders in these schools, whose number was 230, were considered as a sample group and were given the Cognitive Abilities Questionnaire of Nejati (1392), problem-solving style of Cassidy & Lang (1996), psychological wellbeing of Ryff (1989), communication skills of Queen Dam (2004), and mindfulness of Brown & Ryan (2003).

The results of data analysis using the structural equation statistical method showed that the research model has a good fit. In addition, communication skills, both directly and indirectly through mindfulness, have a positive and significant relationship with the cognitive abilities, problem-solving, and psychological wellbeing of mothers of students with autism spectrum disorders (P <0.05).