Effectiveness of Resiliency Training in Improving Mother-Child Relationship in Mothers of Children With Mental Retardation

Objectives: To investigate the effectiveness of resiliency training in improving the mother-child relationship between mothers and their children with mental retardation.  Methods: This study employed an experimental design (pre-test, post-test) with the control group. The statistical population consisted of 52 mothers and their educable and mentally retarded children (3-12 years old) who were kept at daily welfare agency centers in Babol city, Iran. The experimental group received resiliency training program in 12 sessions (70 mins for each session) while the control group received no intervention. The measurement tool consisted of the mother-child’s relationship questionnaire. Data analysis was done using multivariate analysis of covariance at a significance level of P<0.05. Results: The post-test analysis showed a significant decrease in the exclusion of children, extreme support and the easy going nature of mothers in the experimental group; however, the acceptance rate of mothers increased significantly.  Discussion: It seems that the resiliency training program improves the mother-child relationship in the case of mothers and their mentally retarded children and hence, reduces the exclusion, extreme support, and being easy-going nature. This improvement may be due to the changing attitude towards disability and improvement in the skills and behaviors of mothers.