Spiritual Health and Psychological Well-Being and their Relationship with General Self-Efficacy in Mothers of Children with Intellectual Disability and Autism Spectrum Disorders

Sadegh  Yoosefee; Faezeh  Imani; Seyed Amir  Hejazi; Morteza  Heidari

doi:10.18502/ijps.v21i3.21862

Sadegh Yoosefee Neuroscience Research Center, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran.
Faezeh Imani Islamic Azad University, Saveh Branch, Saveh, Iran.
Seyed Amir Hejazi Neuroscience Research Center, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran.
Morteza Heidari Spiritual Health Research Center, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijps.v21i3.21862

Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Intellectual Disability; Psychological Well-Being; Self-Efficacy; Spirituality

Abstract

Objective: Mothers of children suffering with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) experience substantial psychological challenges that may affect their perceived self-efficacy. While psychological well-being and spiritual health are considered important protective factors, their relative contributions to general self-efficacy in this population remain insufficiently explored in Iran. This study aimed to investigate whether psychological well-being and spiritual health are correlated with the general self-efficacy of mothers of children with ID or ASD in Qom, Iran.

Method: This was a correlational cross-sectional study involving the participation of 100 mothers of children with ID (n = 49) and ASD (n = 51) who were enrolled via multi-stage cluster sampling method. The participants completed the Spiritual Health Questionnaire for the Iranian Population, the Ryff Psychological Well-Being Questionnaire, and the Sherer Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression analysis in SPSS version 22, with the significance level set at P < 0.05.

Results: The study revealed that psychological well-being was positively and significantly correlated with general self-efficacy in both mothers of children with ASD (r = 0.62, P < 0.001) and mothers of children with ID (r = 0.65, P < 0.001).

In contrast, spiritual health showed no significant association with general self-efficacy in either group (P > 0.05). Regression analyses showed that psychological well-being explained 38% of the variance in general self-efficacy among mothers of children with ASD and 42% among mothers of children with ID (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: The findings highlight the importance of psychological well-being as a substantial predictor of general self-efficacy among mothers of children with ID and ASD. Thus, interventions to strengthen maternal self-efficacy are recommended to be considered a means of promoting self-efficacy, while the role of spiritual health requires further study.