The Effectiveness of Life Skills Training on Quality of Life in Mothers of Children with Down Syndrome

Objectives:  This  study  aimed  to  examine  the  effectiveness  of  life  skills  training  on  quality  of  life  in mothers of children with Down syndrome.  Methods:  This  research  was  done  as  a  semi-experimental  with  pre-post  test  and  with  control  group. Statistical population included all children with down syndrome, age from 2 months to 8 years, and their mothers who referred to Iran's down syndrome society. Thirty six children were randomly chosen and equally assigned to two groups: experimental and control group. The data were collected by using the demographic  questionnaire  and  the  short  form  of  the  World  Health  Organization  Quality  of  Life. Experimental group was trained for life skills in 12 sessions, each session 60 minutes. Data were analyzed using SPSS-16 software and multivariate analysis of covariance test.   Results:  The  results  indicate  that  the  mean  score  of  quality  of  life  in  the  experimental  group  was significantly higher than the control group after intervention.  Discussion: According to the results, life skills training increased the quality of life in mothers of children with  Down  syndrome. Therefore  the  life  skill  training  can  be  applied  in  mental  health  services  for improving the quality of life in mothers of children with Down syndrome.