Introduction: Raising a child with an intellectual disability can place considerable psychological, emotional, and social demands on parents, particularly mothers, potentially leading to increased parenting stress, lower frustration tolerance, and reduced quality of life. Cognitive emotion regulation training, by helping individuals identify and modify dysfunctional thought patterns and strengthen adaptive cognitive strategies, may enhance parents’ ability to cope with these challenges.
Method: This quasi-experimental study employed a pretest–posttest design with a control group. The study population consisted of mothers of children with intellectual disabilities in Shiraz, Iran. A total of 30 mothers were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 15) and a control group (n = 15). The experimental group participated in eight 90-minute sessions of cognitive emotion regulation training, whereas the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Abidin Parenting Stress Questionnaire (1990), the Harrington Frustration Tolerance Questionnaire (2005), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (1996). Data was analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), controlling pretest scores.
Findings: The findings indicated that cognitive emotion regulation training significantly reduced parenting stress and significantly increased frustration tolerance and quality of life among mothers in the experimental group compared with those in the control group (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that the intervention may enhance mothers’ ability to cope with psychological stressors and improve their emotional well-being.
Conclusion: Cognitive emotion regulation training may be an effective intervention for reducing parenting stress, increasing frustration tolerance, and improving the quality of life of mothers of children with intellectual disabilities. Its integration into parent empowerment and support programs is therefore recommended.