Comparison of resilience, marital instability and psychological well-being in mothers of hearing impaired and normal children in Tehran

Master's Thesis in Family Counseling

Abstract:

Purpose: The present study was conducted with the aim of comparing resilience, marital instability and psychological well-being in two groups of mothers of normal and hearing-impaired children in Tehran using a quantitative-qualitative method. Amir Alam and Luqman Hospitals and Pajhwok Rehabilitation Center and 100 mothers of normal children referring to kindergartens and creativity houses in Tehran were selected in 1992. Connor and Davidson's resilience scale and marriage instability index, Riff's psychological well-being questionnaire were the questionnaires used in the present study. Then descriptive statistics methods such as calculation of mean, standard deviation and t-test of two independent groups were used to analyze the data. In order to obtain more accurate data, 14 people were interviewed in the qualitative section. This number was obtained according to the saturation of responses. Frequency tables, open and axial coding were drawn. Finally, quantitative and qualitative findings were compared.

Finding: In the quantitative part, the results indicated that mothers with hearing-impaired children had less resilience and psychological well-being than mothers of normal children, and there was no difference between the two groups in terms of the variable of marital instability. In the qualitative part, the findings were in line with the quantitative part, so that the resilience and psychological well-being of mothers of hearing-impaired children was lower than that of mothers of normal children, and there was no difference between the two groups in the variable of marital instability.

Conclusion: Considering the low psychological well-being and resilience of mothers of hearing-impaired children compared to mothers of normal children, it can be concluded that the presence of a hearing-impaired child as a A damaging factor acts on these variables. Therefore, it is suggested to teach related skills regarding resilience and psychological well-being for mothers of deaf children.

Key words: psychological well-being, resilience, marriage instability, mother, hearing-impaired children.

Introduction

In family life, sometimes children cause resentment, incompatibility and dissatisfaction of parents and sometimes they are a factor of satisfaction. Having a disabled child in the family is often a sad experience. One of the most important causes of children's disability is hearing loss, which for many parents brings a feeling of grief (Molli and Nemati [1], 2010). Families with hearing-impaired children face different challenges, and in the meantime, mothers have more responsibility for these children due to their role as caregivers. As a result, they face more problems related to mental health and psychological well-being. How parents and especially mothers deal with this disturbing experience and control it depends to a large extent on the resilience of the parents and especially the mother, and in the meantime, the parents may not be able to adapt to the conditions ahead and the probability of divorce increases.

One of the factors that can improve the psychological functioning of the family in the form of thinking, creation and behavior and increase the ability to deal with problems is resilience [2] (Mikaili, Ganji and Talebi). Joybari, 2013). According to Robbins[3] (2008), during the last decade and with the expansion of discussions related to positive psychology[4], the desire for the positive aspects of mental health along with its negative dimensions is increasing. Resilience is one of the main structures of this approach, which has a special place in the field of family psychology and mental health.

Resilience is the ability of a person to establish biological-psychological balance in dangerous conditions (Connor and Davidson [5], 2003). Kaempfer [6] (2002) believed that resilience is returning to the initial balance or reaching a higher level of balance in difficulties, and thus causes successful adaptation in life. The positive adaptation of loss can be considered both as a result of resilience and as its antecedent. He considers this issue as a result of the complexity of defining this structure and the process view of resilience. Resilience refers to the dynamic process of positive adaptation to bitter and unfortunate experiences (Lattar and Cicchetti[7], 2000), which has also been called stress resistance[8] (Garmzi[9], 1985) or post-traumatic growth[10] (Senol-Durac and Ivasik[11], 2010), which is located along a continuum with different degrees of resistance to psychological trauma. (Ingram and Price [12], 2001).According to a definition by Olson, Bond, Burns, Brodick, and Sayer [13] (2003), resilience is a successful adaptation that manifests itself in adversity and debilitating stress. This definition states that resilience requires a complex interaction between risk factors and protective factors. Another variable that can be negatively affected by hearing impaired children is the stability of parents' marriage. The high rate of divorce in Iran and the increase in the percentage of women who want divorce indicate an increase in marital disputes. According to Larson and Holman[14] (1994), marital stability includes three basic components: "passion[15]", "intimacy[16]" and "commitment[17]". In fact, marital instability[18] is considered when one of the spouses or both of them thinks about divorce or separation, or performs actions that tend to end the marriage (Booth and Edoraz[19], 1985; Brown, Sanchez, Nock, and Wright[20], 2006; Hah Legg and Richter[21], 2010).

In general, the concept of marriage instability is seen as the negative pole of a continuum that shows the continuity and continuity of marriage. If a stable and stable marriage has many forces that require each spouse to stay together, an unstable and unstable marriage has many forces that push each spouse to separate (Booth, Johnson[22] and Edwards, 1983). On the other hand, researches showed that marital incompatibility has a negative relationship with psychological well-being (Karami, Zakiyi and Khodadadi, 2013).

Reif and Singer[23] (1989) believe that psychological well-being[24] is more than the absence of illness and refers to what a person needs for well-being. Riff found that researchers agree on criteria such as a positive view of oneself, the ability to create contexts consistent with one's psychological state, warm and reliable relationships with others, a sense of purpose and direction, continuous growth of individual potential abilities, and autonomy. Psychological well-being can be defined as emotional and cognitive reactions to the perception of personal characteristics and capabilities, sufficient progress, efficient and effective interaction with the world, a favorable relationship with society and positive progress over time. This state can also include components such as life satisfaction, energy and positive mood (Karadmas[25], 2007).

Statement of the problem:

Among the variables that increase the mental health and psychological well-being of these mothers is resilience, which helps people to face and adapt in stressful situations and protect them against psychological disorders. does According to the definition of resilience of parents with mentally retarded children, the more resilient they are, the higher their ability to perform positively in adverse circumstances, the more resistant they will be to the suffering caused by caring for their children, and the higher their quality of life will be (Haq Ranjber, Kakavand, Borjali and Bermas, 2013).

Heiman [26] (2002) in a research related to resilience and overcoming problems and future expectations in families with children with learning disabilities and physical disabilities, concluded that the parents of these children need models of adaptation and support; Because parents are forced to make changes in their lives and have high levels of frustration and dissatisfaction in their social life and try hard to maintain their normal and previous life. According to the research of Haq Ranjbar et al. (2013), under the title of resilience and quality of life of mothers with mentally retarded children, the findings indicated that there is a positive and significant correlation between resilience and all components of quality of life. Mikaili et al. (2013) in a research entitled comparison of resilience, marital satisfaction and mental health in parents with children with learning disabilities and normal children concluded that there is a significant difference between the two groups of parents in terms of life satisfaction, resilience and mental health, but unfortunately, research on resilience has not been conducted separately on mothers of hearing-impaired children. Bayat [27] (2007) also identified several factors of resilience in the families of autistic children, such as: family communication and closeness of family members, giving positive meaning to disability and spirituality and personal growth. The results showed that specific identification of resilience processes, such as making positive meaning of disability, mobilizing resources, and being integrated as a family can lead to more enjoyment of life.