Abstract:

The aim of this study is to examine the mediator effect of optimism in the relationship between the sense of coherence and psychological well-being (positive emotions, attachment, positive relationships, meaning and success) of mothers with special needs children. 109 mothers with physically disabled children (N = 28), Down syndrome (n = 12), autism (n = 29) and intellectual disabilities (N = 40) participated in the study. Individual sense of coherence scale, Life Orientation Test and PERMA scale were used as data collection tools in the research. To examine relationships between variables, Pearson product-moment correlation analysis and Preacher and Hayes ' (2008) mediation in accordance with the recommendations of analyses conducted to examine the significance of indirect effects and confidence intervals by bootstrap bootstrap 5000 coefficients were determined. Research results show that optimism has a mediator effect in the relationship between the sense of coherence and psychological well-being (positive emotions, attachment, success) of mothers with special needs children.

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