Effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Therapy on Psychological Well-Being and Resilience among Mothers of Children with Hearing Loss
Keywords:
Compassion, based therapy, psychological well, being, resilience, mothers of deaf childrenAbstract
Introduction and Aim: Mothers of children with hearing loss are exposed to considerable psychological pressure because of extensive caregiving responsibilities, communication difficulties, and concerns about their children’s future. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy in improving psychological well-being and resilience among mothers of children with hearing loss.
Methodology: This quasi-experimental study employed a pretest–posttest control-group design with a three-month follow-up. The statistical population comprised all mothers of children with hearing loss attending the Special Education Center for Children with Hearing Impairment in Shahrekord during the 2018–2019 academic year. From 96 eligible mothers, 40 were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group, with 20 participants in each group. The experimental group received 12 weekly 90-minute compassion-focused therapy sessions, whereas the control group received no psychological intervention. Data were collected at the pretest, posttest, and follow-up stages using Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scale and the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale. The data were analyzed in SPSS version 23 using repeated-measures analysis of variance.
Findings: The effects of time, group, and the time-by-group interaction on psychological well-being were statistically significant, with F values of 18.74, 15.32, and 21.56, respectively (p<0.001). The corresponding effect sizes were 0.49, 0.41, and 0.53. Significant effects of time, group, and the time-by-group interaction were also found for resilience, with F values of 16.48, 13.27, and 17.95, respectively (p<0.001), and effect sizes of 0.46, 0.38, and 0.47. The significant interaction effects indicated that changes across the assessment stages differed between the groups and that the improvements achieved by the experimental group were maintained at the three-month follow-up.
Conclusion: Compassion-focused therapy can enhance psychological well-being and resilience among mothers of children with hearing loss by promoting self-kindness, reducing self-criticism, facilitating the acceptance of difficult emotions, and strengthening adaptive coping skills. Its implementation in counseling centers, special education schools, and rehabilitation settings is therefore recommended.
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