Effect of Problem Solving Based Group Counseling on Marital Satisfaction of Mothers with Intellectually Disabled Children: Gorgan, Iran (2016)

Abstract: Introduction: Diagnosis of intellectual disability in children poses mental pressure and emotional crisis with respect to keeping, raising, and training to family members and mothers, in particular. This issue can also negatively affect marital satisfaction of the parents. The present research was conducted to assess the effect of problem-solving based group counseling on marital satisfaction in mothers with intellectually disabled children. Material and Methods: The Statistical population of the present intervention-control study is comprised of mothers with intellectually disabled children referring to two health centers in Gorgan City, Iran, in 2016. Research samples consisted of 30 subjects randomly assigned to two control and intervention groups. The intervention group was subjected to 6 sessions (once in a week) of problem-solving based group counseling while the control group received no intervention. At the end of these sessions, the Persian version of Evaluation and Nurturing Relationship Issues Communication and Happiness (ENRICH), which consists of 47 items with 11 subscales, was completed in two steps: one week and one month after the intervention. The gathered data were analyzed using repeated measures of analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a follow-up test in the SPSS16 software. Results: The results showed that mean and standard deviation of marital satisfaction scores in three steps of intervention including before, one week after, and one month after the intervention was 140.7 ± 15.08, 143.13 ± 14.43, and 150.73 ± 11.65, respectively. As can be seen, there is a statistically significant difference between marital satisfaction scores before and one month after the intervention (P = 0.016) while this score is almost constant in the control group during the study period. Conclusion: The results show that by the passage of time mothers learn and apply better the problem-solving skill in their life, leading to their enhanced marital satisfaction. Thus, it is suggested training these skills to the mothers with intellectually disabled children referring to the health and rehabilitation centers by midwives and midwifery consultants.