The effectiveness motivational interviewing on marital satisfaction and self-efficacy of mothers with children with cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy is a non-progressive neurocognitive disorder that typically manifests early in life due to various causes. As a lifelong condition, it can diminish the affected individual’s abilities and exert significant psychological stress, particularly on mothers of children diagnosed with this disorder.

The objective of the current research was to examine the impact of motivational interviewing on enhancing marital satisfaction and self-efficacy among mothers who have children diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

The study utilized a quasi-experimental design, incorporating pretests, posttests, and follow-up, along with a control group. The research population comprised all mothers of children with cerebral palsy who attended the educational and rehabilitation centers for the physically and motor impaired in Kermanshah in the year 2021. Out of the entire population, 26 mothers who patronized the specified centers were chosen based on their willingness to participate and were then randomly divided into two groups: the experimental group and the control group. Data collection involved the use of Olson’s Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire (1989) and Sherer’s General Self-Efficacy Scale (1982). Participants in the experimental group participated in group counseling sessions that employed Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques (Miller & Rollnick, 2006), consisting of ten 90-minute sessions. Data analysis was performed using repeated-measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc tests in SPSS software, version 24.

The findings indicated that motivational interviewing significantly improved the overall scores of marital satisfaction and self-efficacy among mothers with children who have cerebral palsy, with p-values less than 0.05, indicating statistical significance.

The study’s results suggest that motivational interviewing has a positive effect on enhancing marital satisfaction and self-efficacy in mothers of children diagnosed with cerebral palsy.