Mediating Role of Psychological Security in the Relationship between Optimism and Self-Compassion with Psychological Well-Being in Veterans’ Spouses

Aims: After the end of the war and the return of the warriors to the family, due to the stresses of the war and its devastating effect on the spirit and soul of the veterans, the adverse effects of war on the family, especially the spous, continue.The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of psychological security in the relationship between optimism and self-compassion with psychological well-being in veterans' spouses. Instruments and Methods: In this descriptive-correlational study with the path analysis model, 226 veterans’ spouses supported by the foundation of martyrs and veterans affairs of Mashhad were selected by available sampling method in the winter of 2016. The instruments of the study included Reef’s Psychological Well-being Scales, Reis et al.’s Self-Compassion Scales, Scheier and Carver’s Optimism Scale, and Maslow's psychological security questionnaire. The data were analyzed by Amos 20 and SPSS 22 software, using Pearson correlation coefficient, path analysis method, and structural equation modeling. Findings: There was a positive and significant correlation between psychological security with optimism and self-compassion, also, there was a positive and significant correlation optimism, self- compassion, and psychological security with psychological well-being (p<0.05). The direct effect of optimism and self- compassion on psychological well-being was not significant (p>0.05), but psychological security had a mediating role in the relationship between optimism and self- compassion with psychological well-being. Indices related to the fitting of the path model indicated a fairly favorable fit of the model (p<0.05). Conclusion: The relationship between optimism and self-compassion with psychological well-being is not a simple linear relationship and psychological security can mediate this relationship.