The Comparison of the Components of Psychological Well-Being in Mothers of Adolescents with and without Sensory Impairment

Introduction: Adolescents with sensory impairment, in addition to regular problems of other adolescents, have problems related to their impairment, so this situation can affect the stress and mental health of parents, in particular, mothers. Regarding the role of mothers' psychological well-being in shaping the behavior and character of adolescents and their social relationships, the purpose of this study was to compare the components of psychological well-being among mothers of adolescents with and without sensory impairments. Methods: The research method was causal-comparative. The statistical population included all mothers who have an adolescent with and without sensory impairment of Shiraz in 2015. Ninety-one subjects including thirty-eight mothers that have an adolescent with sensory impairment were selected by convenience sampling method and fifty-three mothers that have an adolescent without sensory impairment were selected through multistage random sampling method. The Reef Psychological Wellbeing scale was used for measuring psychological wellbeing. MANOVA was used for data analysis by SPSS21. Results: The results showed that mothers that have an adolescent with sensory impairment in subscales of self-acceptance, environmental mastery, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and autonomy were significantly lower than the mothers who have adolescents without sensory impairment.(P<0.001) But there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of personal growth.(P>0.05) Conclusions: Considering the significant difference between mothers of adolescents with and without sensory impairment in most of the components of psychological well-being, it is suggested to design and implement the necessary interventions for improving the psychological well-being of mothers of adolescents with sensory impairment.