The Effect of Positive Couple Therapy on the Happiness of Mothers of Exceptional Children

Background and Purpose: Happiness is one of the components of attention of the World Health Organization, which has a direct relationship with mental health and quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of positive couple therapy on the happiness of mothers of children with special needs. Research hypothesis states that mothers who receive intervention will have more happiness than mothers in the control group. Methods: This study was a quasi‑experimental research with pre‑/posttest design with control group. Among mothers of children with special needs in Mashhad, Iran, twenty participants were selected in a purposeful method and were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (ten participants in each group). Oxford Happiness Questionnaire was used to collect the data. To analyze the data, covariance analysis was used at inferential level, and the mean and standard deviation were used at descriptive level. Results: The results indicated that the happiness of mothers of children with special needs who received the intervention was significantly increased. Conclusion: According to the obtained results, it can be concluded that couple therapy with a positive attitude is effective in increasing the happiness of mothers of children with special needs in Mashhad city, Iran

Keywords:

Couple therapy , exceptional children , happiness , mothers