The Effectiveness of Relaxation Techniques Training on Mental Health Indicators and and Resilience of Mothers of Children with Leukemia

Introduction: The diagnosis of cancer among children is a life-changing event for themselves and their family. Methods: The present study is a semi-experimental pretest-posttest with control group. The statistical population of the study included all mothers with a child with leukemia who referred to the oncology department of 17 Shahrivar Hospital in Rasht city. Thirty mothers who had a child with leukemia were randomly divided into two groups: relaxation training (15) and control group (15). Then, they completed questionnaires of general health questionnaire (GHQ) and Scale of Resilience in three stages of pre-test, post-test and follow-up. The training group received relaxation techniques for 2 months (8 sessions of 2 hours). After 2 months, the follow up was performed. Data was analyzed using SPSS 19 and by Covariance and repeated measure ANOVA. Results: Mancova showed that the training of relaxation techniques in post-test stage has a significant effect on physical complaints, social anxiety and depression and increases resiliency (P<0.01). The results of repeated measures analysis of variance showed that the effect of relaxation techniques on mental health indicators, anxiety (P<0.01) social withdrawal and depression (P<0.05) and resiliency (P<0.01) remained up to follow up stage. Conclusion: According to the results, it can be said that the training of relaxation techniques should be part of the treatment plans for mothers with cancer in hospitals and counseling centers.