mahdi barzegar; Asma Zare; zahra Naghsh; Mohammad Shafiee; yaser heidari
Abstract
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between help seeking and teacher-student relationship with the mediating role of achievement goals and achievement motivation. The statistical population of this study were students of Tehran province who studied in the seventh and ...
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between help seeking and teacher-student relationship with the mediating role of achievement goals and achievement motivation. The statistical population of this study were students of Tehran province who studied in the seventh and ninth grades in the academic year of 1398-99. The sample of this study was 317 boys and girls students and was chosen by multi-stage cluster sampling and all of them completed the Ryan and Pintrich (1997) questionnaires, Murray and Zurich’s (2010) teacher-student relationship questionnaires, Herman’s (1997) achievement motivation questionnaires and Eliot and McGregor (2001) achievement goals. Data were analyzed by Pearson correlation and path analysis. The findings showed that the direct effect of the teacher-student relationship on achievement motivation and the direct effect of the mastery approach on achievement motivation were positive and significant. The direct effect of performance-avoidance on help-seeking was negative and significant. The indirect effect of the teacher-student relationship on the help seeking by mediating of mastery approach and performance avoiding was positive and significant, and also the indirect effect of the teacher-student relationship on the help seeking by mediating achievement motivation was positive and significant. The results of this study will be useful for education and higher education centers, especially for teachers, to increase the help seeking and teacher-student relationship and also motivation among students.
Keywords: help seeking, teacher-student relationship, achievement goals, and achievement motivation.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
One of the most prevalent and debilitating problems of adults and young adults is depression, and it is so widespread that it is referred to as a mental “cold” among mental disorders (Madmali et al., 2016). The prevalence of this disorder is reported to be 14% among boys and 28% among girls (Zebrig et al., 2017). Psychological well-being is among the factors affected by depression disorder (Smith et al., 2017). The feeling of mental well-being or having life satisfaction is a field of positive psychology that tries to evaluate the cognitive judgment of people's satisfaction/dissatisfaction and emotions (positive and negative values) from their lives in various situations, such as school, work, and daily life (Desi & Ryan, 2008). Another skill that may be affected by depressed students is social competence. Social competence is the ability to express emotions, understand others, take personal responsibility, and establish appropriate social relationships with others (Lindsey & Berks, 2019). Grisham (1981) showed that success in social interactions requires social competence and students with poor social skills face problems such as peer rejection, behavioral problems, and low academic success when they enter school. One of the methods of psychological empowerment is self-compassion training, which can affect the mental well-being and social adequacy of depressed students. Self-compassion is defined as acceptance of vulnerability, care, and kindness towards oneself, understanding and having a non-evaluative attitude towards one's failures and inadequacy, and recognition of the everyday experiences of a person (Neff, 2016). Various studies have shown the positive result of this treatment in reducing mood disorders and increasing mental health (Macbeth & Gamble, 2012; Zesin et al., 2015). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive self-compassion training on the mental well-being and social competence of depressed students.
Research question
Does self-compassion affect the mental well-being and social competence of students with depression?
Review of literature
Evidence shows that people who have higher self-compassion experience less depression and anxiety in challenging social situations and are more satisfied with their lives (Marsh et al., 2018). Also, self-compassionate people have more courage in dealing with negative events. They use lower emotional and negative self-evaluation when asked to recall their failure experience (Ross, 2010). Strong relationships between self-compassion and many indicators of positive mental health, including lower levels of depressive symptoms and higher life satisfaction, have been observed in previous research (Zesin et al., 2015; Phillips, 2018). According to Allen and Lori (2010), self-compassion also includes appropriate coping strategies that help people deal with negative events in their lives in a positive way.
Methodology
The current research has a semi-experimental pretest-posttest follow-up design with a control group. The statistical population of this research was all the female students studying in the first and second years of high school referred to the educational counseling organization of Poldakhtar City in the academic year of 2018-2019. For this purpose, among 100 volunteer students, 39 students were diagnosed with depression based on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Then, according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study, 30 female students were selected and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics tests (mean and standard deviation) and inferential multivariate covariance analysis using SPSS software version 22.
Results
According to the statistical results, it can be stated that the effectiveness of cognitive self-compassion training intervention is effective in the mental well-being and social competence of students suffering from depression (p < 0.05).
Table 1. Pairwise comparison of stages and experimental and control groups in mental well-being and social adequacy variable
P-value
Standard Deviation
Mean
Group J
Group I
Stage
Variable
622/0
61/2
30/1-
Control
Experimental
Pretest
Mental well-being
004/0
96/2
15/9
Control
Experimental
Posttest
004/0
97/2
62/9
Control
Experimental
Follow-up
555/0
87/5
47/3
Control
Experimental
Pretest
Social competence
001/0
97/9
27/51
Control
Experimental
Posttest
001/0
25/10
93/52
Control
Experimental
Follow-up
P-value
Standard Deviation
Mean
Stage J
Stage I
Group
0001/0
11/1
40/10-
Posttest
Pretest
Experimental
Mental well-being
001/0
20/1
93/10-
Follow-up
Pretest
032/0
196/0
533/0-
Follow-up
Posttest
658/0
08/1
063/0
Posttest
Pretest
Control
988/0
161/1
001/0
Follow-up
Pretest
989/0
190/0
063/0-
Follow-up
Posttest
001/0
24/6
66/51
Pretest
Pretest
Social competence
001/0
50/6
26/53
Posttest
Posttest
Experimental
004/0
455/0
60/1-
Follow-up
Follow-up
934/0
05/6
18/3-
Posttest
Pretest
944/0
03/6
75/3-
Follow-up
Pretest
Control
967/0
44/0
063/0-
Follow-up
Posttest
As can be seen, there is no difference in mental well-being and social competence between the two experimental and control groups in the pre-test (p < 0.05). Also, the results indicate a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test stages, between the pre-test and follow-up, and between the post-test and follow-up in the experimental group (p < 0.05). However, in the control group, there is no significant difference between the different measurement stages (p < 0.05). These results and comparing the experimental group's mental well-being and social competence means in the three stages of pre-test, post-test, and follow-up show that cognitive self-compassion training has increased mental well-being and social competence. Therefore, self-compassion training has increased students' mental well-being and social competence in the experimental group.
Figure 1. Mental well-being chart of two groups in pre-test, post-test, and follow-up stages
Figure 2. Social competence diagram of two groups in pre-test, post-test, and follow-up stages
Discussion
This research was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive self-compassion training on the mental well-being and social competence of students with depression. The results of repeated measures ANOVA showed that the difference between the average scores of mental well-being and social competence of the experimental group in the post-test and follow-up phase compared to the pre-test phase is significant compared to the pre-test scores of the control group.
Conclusion
According to the present study findings and similar studies, it was concluded that in stressful and challenging times, instead of rumination, students manage crises using self-compassion skills such as mindfulness, self-kindness, shared human experiences and responsibility, and creating constructive skills with others, strengthening mental health and causing inner satisfaction.
Acknowledgments
In the end, we would like to express our gratitude to all those who helped the authors in the implementation and compilation of the article.
Majid Omidi khankahdani; .Gholam Ali Afrooz; sogand ghasemzadeh; zahra Naghsh
Abstract
Abstract
Down syndrome is one of the most common chromosomal disorders, and the birth of a child with this syndrome can greatly impact the psychological state of parents and other family members. The purpose of this research was to study the factors that affect the quality of life in families of children ...
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Abstract
Down syndrome is one of the most common chromosomal disorders, and the birth of a child with this syndrome can greatly impact the psychological state of parents and other family members. The purpose of this research was to study the factors that affect the quality of life in families of children with Down syndrome, based on the lived experiences of both families and professionals in this area. The research method used was qualitative, and the study included 14 families and 15 professionals who shared their experiences through semi-structured interviews. Families were selected from the special education system, while professionals were selected via snowball sampling until saturation was reached. Data were coded in three stages (open, axial, and selective coding) and analyzed. The open codes consisted of 24 concepts, while axial codes included supports received, acceptance, coping skills, child performance (function), worry, and future security. The lived experiences of families and professionals showed that receiving support, accepting the child by families and community, family coping skills, child performance, and future security are all important factors for the quality of life in families of children with Down syndrome.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Quality of life is a multidimensional concept that includes objective components such as health, education, income, security, as well as subjective components such as happiness, life satisfaction and meaning in life (Tripathi, Rai & Rompay-Bartels, 2021). The attitude towards individuals with disabilities has changed a lot over the years, as a result, families' role in supporting them has become increasingly important (Brown, 2010). Down syndrome is a common chromosomal disorder that affects people all over the world. People with Down syndrome often have emotional, psychological, physical, social, and economic impacts on their families. (Eckdahl, 2018; Afrooz, 2009) There have been some studies on the quality of life of families of children with Down syndrome, but more research is still needed in this area. The present study investigated the experience of families and professionals with children with Down syndrome to understand what factors impact the quality of life of the family of children with Down syndrome.
Research Question(s)
Based on the lived experiences of families and experts, what are the factors affecting the quality of life of families with children with Down syndrome?
Literature Review
Families of children with Down syndrome also report experiencing despair, having weak coping skills, and feeling a low level of life satisfaction. (Krueger et al, 2021). Families of children with Down syndrome report more well-being when they are able to participate in groups and social networks where they can receive support and information. (Roll & Bowers, 2019). The research results indicate the impact of perceived social support, child functioning, and socio-economic status on the quality of life of the families of those with Down syndrome (Rezende et al, 2016). Also, many research studies have explored the satisfaction of families in various aspects, including acceptance, commitment to family, and pleasure (Ajuwon, 2012), dissatisfaction with health care, low income, and high medical costs (Caples et al, 2018; Babaei et al, 2017). This exhaustion and burnout, which has different objective and subject aspects, are the result of physical characteristics and cognitive deficiencies, which are very important from parents' point of view (Marron, et al, 2013). In some cases, parents refer to the events as a valuable experience that has positively impacted their lives and has helped them to develop a new perspective on life and on their own personal development (Moreira et al, 2016; Skotko et al, 2011). According to parents of children with Down syndrome, the most important positive experiences involve influencing other parents, their child's achievements, acceptance, and social connection. Parents also experienced negative experiences such as medical challenges, lack of acceptance, lack of specialized support, and lack of support from government organizations (Farkas et al, 2019; Hillman et al, 2013; Siklos & Kerns, 2006).
Methodology
The research was qualitative and used the descriptive phenomenological method to study the perspective of psychologists working in the field of Down syndrome and of the parents of children with Down syndrome. In the study, 14 families of children with Down syndrome and 15 experts participated (who were either specialists, school teachers or professors). Families of children with Down syndrome were recruited through schools, while experts on the topic were selected based on their expertise and their work in the field of Down syndrome and a semi-structured interview was used to collect data and the average time of the interviews was about 45 minutes. As the interviews took place, an analysis of their text was done in order to identify common themes and patterns. Sampling continued until saturation was reached. After the interviews, the researchers extracted and coded the common concepts and patterns by using the MAXQDA software. The researchers analyzed the results based on the Colizzis Method which has several steps: reading all the descriptions; extracting important words and sentences; providing meaning for the extracted important sentences; defining the categories; combining the results; comprehensive description and final reliability of the findings (Morrow et al, 2015). After coding, in order to data accuracy, the participants were contacted by phone and received their opinion regarding the researchers' perception of their conversations in the interviews.
Results
These were the themes that were extracted from the interviews with parents and professionals: support, acceptance, coping skills, performance of children with Down syndrome, and concern for their future.
Conclusion
The results showed that the factors of support, acceptance, coping skills, performance of a child with Down syndrome, concern and future security have an effect on the quality of life of families of children with Down syndrome. Support included support received from family members, official institutions, and informal organizations and institutions. Parents of children with Down syndrome state that it is not possible for one person to meet the needs of a child with Down syndrome, and that the more family members participate in meeting their needs and helping them, the more mental pressure and fatigue that parents experience, reduces.
Most of the participants in the research complained about the lack of laws appropriate to the characteristics of these people and their families, the temporary nature or non-implementation of some of the existing laws. Regarding the financial support and facilities provided by the relevant institutions, the participants had a common view of their inadequacy and the inappropriate way of providing it.
Regarding the issue of specialized support, the participants believed that considering the special mental and physical needs of people with Down syndrome, it is necessary to establish specialized treatment centers and also train counselors and psychologists in this field. Another important and significant issue was the behavior of the medical staff with the families, which the families did not have a good experience, especially from the moment of birth. Some medical care personnel have disappointed the families about the child's future.
The support received from people around and informal parenting groups brings a higher quality of life for the family of children with Down syndrome. Communicating with other families in similar situations is a source of learning and emotional support.
Acceptance, at the family level makes family members learn coping skills, use them and continue to make efforts to help people with Down syndrome and help them to reach the maximum possible level. Social acceptance, provide opportunity for participating in the community of families and their children. Families with higher life and communication skills, have a higher degree of adjustment and resilience.
If parents have a positive view on religious values and beliefs, it helps them accept a child with Down syndrome, and see the child as a divine gift and test. Also, some parents change their opinions and beliefs after giving birth to a child with Down syndrome and choose a different worldview. Families reported greater satisfaction when their child demonstrated more self-help skills, academic achievement and success in professional activities. One of the concerns expressed by parents, was the future marriage of their child with Down syndrome and their siblings.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the families and professionals who provided us with their valuable experiences.
Keywords: Quality of Life, Family, Down syndrome, Lived Experience.
zahra Naghsh; zahra Ramezani Khamsi; Samira Vakili
Abstract
Parental involvement at home is essential for the learning and success of children with learning disabilities. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the mediating role of parent participation in the relationship between the shame of having children with learning disabilities and the performance ...
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Parental involvement at home is essential for the learning and success of children with learning disabilities. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the mediating role of parent participation in the relationship between the shame of having children with learning disabilities and the performance of students with learning disabilities. 140 students with learning disabilities were selected from all pupils of Tehran's primary school by the available sampling method. In this study, the Parental Involvement Scale of Olson Barnes (1992) was used to investigate parents' participation and the Parent's Attitude Scale (GOODNER, 2002) was used to investigate the shame of having a child with a learning disability. The results showed that the shame of having a child with a learning disorder has a direct and significant effect on the performance of students with learning disabilities and the effect of parent involvement on the performance is direct and significant (p<0.05). The more positive the parents' attitude towards their children, the more their involvement and participation in home and school activities will be. Also, the shame of having a child with a learning disorder has a significant effect on the student's performance due to the parents' participation. The model has a good fit and 17% of students' performance variance is explained by the research variables.