The Effectiveness of Positive Psychotherapy on Resilience and Quality of Life of Mothers of Students with Specific Learning Disabilities
Keywords:
Positive psychotherapy, resilience training, Quality of life, Students with specific learning disabilitiesAbstract
Objective: The study aimed to determine the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy in improving resilience and quality of life among mothers of students with specific learning disabilities.
Methodology: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test and a control group. The statistical population consisted of mothers of elementary school students with specific learning disabilities in Arak. Using purposive sampling, 30 participants (15 experimental, 15 control) were selected. Instruments included the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (2003) and the WHO Quality of Life Questionnaire (1996). The intervention followed Rashid and Seligman’s positive psychotherapy protocol delivered in eight 90-minute sessions. Data were analyzed using ANCOVA in SPSS-27.
Findings: ANCOVA results indicated that positive psychotherapy significantly improved resilience and quality of life (P<0.001). Effect size analysis showed that the intervention explained 50.5% of the variance in resilience and 37.8% in quality of life. Bonferroni post-hoc analysis confirmed that post-test scores in the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group across both variables.
Conclusion: Positive psychotherapy effectively enhances resilience and improves the quality of life of mothers of children with specific learning disabilities, suggesting its usefulness as an intervention for psychological support in this population.
Downloads
References
Abaii, S. M., & Bagheri, N. (2024). The effectiveness of positive psychotherapy on time perspective and psychological capital in mothers of children with specific learning disorders. Journal of Psychological Sciences, 23(142), 247–259. https://doi.org/10.61186/jps.23.142.247
Afsarsangari, Z., & Kabini Moghaddam, S. (2024). Comparison of quality of life, body image, and resilience in girls with and without premenstrual syndrome. Growth of Psychology, 13(3), 83–92. https://frooyesh.ir/article-1-5396-fa.html
Ahmadian, R., Hosseini Nasab, S. D., & Azmoudeh, M. (2023). The effectiveness of working memory enhancement on attention, cognitive processing, and emotion regulation strategies in children with specific learning disorders. Growth of Psychology, 12(9), 105–116. https://frooyesh.ir/browse.php?a_id=4731&slc_lang=en&sid=1&printcase=1&hbnr=1&hmb=1
Barzegar Pir, S., Alavi Matin, Y., Mahmoudzadeh, M., & Bafandeh Zendeh, A. (2025). Designing a model of relationships among factors influencing the promotion of community resilience in the city of Tabriz. Strategic Studies of Culture, 5(1), 175–207. https://scsj.ricac.ac.ir/article_206235.html?lang=en
Colvin, M. K., Reesman, J., & Glen, T. (2022). Reforming learning disorder diagnosis following COVID-19 educational disruption. Nature Reviews Psychology, 1(1), 251–252. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-022-00052-0
Drazheva, E., & Stamova, S. (2025). The woman and her inner dialogue: How Positive Psychotherapy transforms psychosomatic challenges into strength. The Global Psychotherapist, 5(1), 126–131. https://doi.org/10.52982/lkj265
Engelhardt, C. L., Meier, M., Keller, S., & Laireiter, A. R. (2024). Positive psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy in anxiety patients - A study protocol for a randomized control trial in an online group setting. PLoS One, 19(4), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0299803
Eryilmaz, A. (2025). Positive Psychotherapy in action: the "DYNAMICS" method for formulating basic conflicts. The Global Psychotherapist, 5(1), 101–114. https://doi.org/10.52982/lkj263
Giles, C. J., Västhagen, M., van Leuven, L., Edenius, A., Ghaderi, A., & Enebrink, P. (2025). The efficacy of psychological prevention, and health promotion interventions targeting psychological health, wellbeing or resilience among forced migrant children and youth: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 34(1), 123–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-024-02424-8
Gülirmak Güler, K., Güleç Keskin, S., & Albayrak, E. (2024). The power of virtual connections: A randomized controlled trial of online positive psychotherapy training on effective communication skills of nursing students. Nurse Education in Practice, 77(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2024.103967
Jeong, Y. J., & Shin, S. (2023). The relationship between secondary traumatic stress and burnout in critical care nurses: The mediating effect of resilience. Intensive & Critical Care Nursing, 74(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iccn.2022.103327
Lockwood, A. B., Farmer, R. L., Winans, S., & Sealander, K. (2022). Specific learning disability identification practices in the USA: A survey of special education administrators. Contemporary School Psychology, 26(4), 535–544. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-021-00375-4
Mohammadlou, M., Sotoudeh Asl, N., Ghorbani, R., & Tale Pasaand, S. (2023). Comparison of the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on improving selective attention in students with specific learning disorders. Journal of Psychological Sciences, 22(132), 149–168. https://psychologicalscience.ir/browse.php?a_id=2087&sid=1&slc_lang=en
Özbey Duygu, E. (2025). Examining the opinions of senior university students and their actual clients regarding the supervision of practice-based course structured on the Balance model of Positive Psychotherapy. The Global Psychotherapist, 5(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.52982/lkj254
Rafiei, M., Masoudi, S., & Khakpour, M. (2025). The effectiveness of positive psychotherapy on cognitive flexibility, marital frustration, and post-traumatic growth in women with cancer. A New Approach to Child Education, 7(1), 10–21. https://mjms.mums.ac.ir/article_24591.html
Sari, T., Demirbag, T., & Çaliskan, S. (2025). Building Resilience Through a Self-Help Psychoeducation Program Based on Positive Psychotherapy: A Pilot Study with Young Adults in Türkiye. Adversity and Resilience Science, 1(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42844-025-00164-5
Taylor, B., Thompson, J., & Ryan, T. (2024). 'Moving on' for Adults With a Learning Disability and Their Families: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study. Qualitative Health Research, 34(11), 1053–1068. https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323241232360
Vatan Khah, F., & Amin Jafari, B. (2024). The effectiveness of positive psychotherapy on compassion fatigue, resilience, and life satisfaction among healthcare workers in hospitals of Isfahan. Proceedings of the First International and Second National Conference on Quality Living from the Perspective of Psychology, Counseling, and Social Work, Khomeinishahr, Iran. https://civilica.com/doc/2010184/
Xiang, L., Wan, H., & Zhu, Y. (2025). Effects of cognitive behavioral therapy on resilience among adult cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC psychiatry, 25(1), 204–213. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-06628-3
Downloads
Published
Submitted
Revised
Accepted
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Fatemeh Mohammadi, Seyed Ali Aleyasin (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.