The Role of Spiritual Attitude in Child-Rearing in Predicting the Psychological Hardiness of Mothers with Handicapped Children

Objectives: Providing care to children who have disability is often a stressful experience, yet spiritual beliefs may help mothers to be patient, tolerant and  hard in coping with child-rearing difficulties. This study examined the relationship between the spiritual attitudes of mothers of handicapped children to child-rearing and psychological hardiness. Methods: In a descriptive correlational study, 120 mothers of handicapped children who were referred to the rehabilitation clinics of the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences (Rofeideh, Akhavan and Sina clinics) were selected through purposeful sampling and answered the Sanctification of Parents Scale (SPS), and Personal Views Survey (PVS). Data were analyzed by SPSS-20 software and statistical procedures including Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis were used. Results: Results showed that spiritual attitudes to child-rearing are significant predictors of hardiness in mothers. Discussion: It seems like having spiritual attitudes in difficult situations such as providing care for disabled children plays a significant role in mother’s patience and hardiness.