Parental self efficacy of mothers with special needs children: The predictive role of mindfulness and psychological resilience

The first aim of this study is to examine the parental self-efficacy of mothers of children with special needs in terms of demographic variables, and the second aim is to determine to what extent mindfulness and psychological resilience of these mothers predict parental self-efficacy. Using the relational research method, the sample of the study consisted of 424 mothers with special needs children in Bolu, Turkey. As data collection tools, demographic information form, the Parental Self-efficacy Scale, the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, and the Resilience Scale for Adults were utilized. Quantitative in nature, SPSS 20 software program was used for statistical analysis of the data. Before initiating the analysis, the missing data and extreme values in the dataset were examined, and the normality of the distribution was tested. In order to find out whether the parental self-efficacy differed according to the demographic variables, Independent Sample t-test and One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were conducted. Also, Stepwise Regression Analysis was employed in the examination of mothers' mindfulness' and psychological resilience's predicting parental self-efficacy. The results revealed that the parental self-efficacy levels of mothers with special needs children differed according to the level of income, education level, and employment status while there was no difference in terms of age. A highly significant positive correlation was found between parental self-efficacy and psychological resilience as well as mindfulness. In the first phase of stepwise regression analysis carried out with the two-stage model, the mindfulness variable (.86), which was determined to be related at a higher level, and in the second phase, the psychological resilience variable (.82) were included in the analysis. As a result of the analysis, mindfulness and psychological resilience significantly predicted parental self-efficacy levels. It was concluded that the most explanatory variable was mindfulness (73.9%) whereas in the second phase, mindfulness along with psychological resilience (81.6%) explained it together. The research findings are discussed within the framework other related studies in the literature, and suggestions are presented. KEYWORDS: Parental Self Efficacy, Psychological Resilience, Mindfulness, Mothers with Special Needs Children