مدل یابی استحکام روانی بر اساس خلاقیت هیجانی با نقش میانجی نشخوار فکری مادران نوجوان مبتلا به اوتیسم

Introduction
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder [1] that represents one of the most disabling chronic disorders of childhood [2, 3 ]and is characterized by abnormalities in social interactions, restricted interests, communication deficits, and repetitive behaviors [4]. The behavioral and interactional challenges observed in individuals with autism are attributed to impairments in perceptual processing, as these individuals may not perceive or interpret sensory information in the same way as typical individuals. These core characteristics often result in limited opportunities for interaction and communication for individuals with autism, which hinders their learning and development [5]. In addition to the difficulties experienced by children with autism, parents of children with autism, especially mothers, may face unique challenges and demands in caring for their child, which can affect their psychological well-being [6, 7, 8]. Furthermore, the challenges faced by mothers of children with autism are not understood by those around them, which increases their parenting difficulties. This affects their mental toughness, as welfare and rehabilitation centers prioritize the well-being of children over that of mothers [10. mental toughness has been defined as a stable characteristic that enables individuals to face and cope with a variety of physical, mental, and emotional stresses, allowing them to achieve an optimal level of functioning [11]. The aim of the present study was to investigate the structural model of mental toughness based on emotional creativity with the mediating role of rumination in mothers of adolescents with autism.
Method
The present study was descriptive and correlational. The statistical population consisted of mothers of adolescents with autism in the winter of 2025. According to Kline [38], the minimum required sample size is 200. Therefore, in the present study, a sample size of 460 individuals was selected based on Klein's suggestion. After referring to psychology and medical service centers in Tehran, 460 mothers whose adolescent children had been diagnosed with autism and who were willing to participate in the study answered the questions within a 2-week period, of which 100 responses were identified as outliers or missing. Consequently, the analysis was conducted on 360 individuals. Informed consent to answer the questions, along with the mothers' lack of acute and chronic psychological problems based on their own reports, were the inclusion criteria for the study, while insufficient cooperation and failure to complete the research questionnaires were the exclusion criteria. Using the Gilliam autism rating scale-3 [39], mental toughness questionnairel [42], Emotional Creativity Inventory [48] and Ruminative Response Scale ( [52]. To measure the research variables, mean and standard deviation were used at the descriptive level. At the inferential level, Pearson correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling were used to examine the relationships between variables. The data analysis software was SPSS version 29 and AMOS version 29.
Results
In this study, 460 people answered the questionnaires, and 100 of them were identified as outliers or missing. Therefore, the analysis was conducted on 360 people. The results showed direct effect of emotional creativity (β=0.53 and sig=0.001) and rumination (β= - 0.73 and sig=0.001) on mental toughness are significant. The results also showed that rumination has a significant mediating role in the relationship between emotional creativity (β= -0.57 and sig=0.001) with mental toughness. Also, the final research model had a good fit (RMSEA=0.06, SRMR=0.03, p<0.05) and 83% of the variance of mental toughness is explained. Table 1 shows the fit indices of the research model.
Table 1: fit indicators of the research model
Measure Threshold acceptable value
CMIN 137.17 -
DF 62 -
CMIN/DF 2.21 <3
Sig 0/001 -
RMSEA 0.06 <0.08
PCLOSE 0.001 >0.90
SRMR 0.03 <0.08
CFI 0.92 >0.90
AGFI 0.96 >0.90
PCFI 0.67 >0.60
PNFI 0.73 >0.60
IFI 0.92 >0.90
GFI 0.95 >0.90
NFI 0.97 >0.90
In this study, the parameter estimation method was the maximum likelihood method. Based on the results, the fit indices of the research model were all favorable and the root mean square approximation index should be below 0.08 [63, 64 and 65]. Also, the root mean square residual is defined as the difference between the observed correlation and the implicit correlation matrix of the model. This index allows the evaluation of the average magnitude of the differences between the observed and expected correlations as an absolute criterion of the fit criterion (model) [66]. If the value of the SRMR index is less than 0.08 [67], or according to other sources that have been mentioned, for the SRMR index, values less than 0.05 indicate good fit and values less than or equal to 10 indicate acceptable fit [65]. According to the results, the RMSEA index was equal to 0.06 and the root mean square residual (SRMR) was 0.03; therefore, it can be concluded that the model has a very good fit with the data and is appropriate. Also, the 95% confidence interval around the RMSEA index is between 0.048 and 0.057, which indicates a favorable state of model fit.
Discussion and conclusion
Finally, the results showed that rumination plays a mediating role in the relationship between emotional creativity and mental toughness of mothers of adolescents with autism. There is no research that has shown that rumination plays a mediating role in the relationship between emotional creativity and mental toughness of mothers of adolescents with autism. Therefore, the alignment and inconsistency of this result with the results of previous research is not clear. In explaining this result, it can be said that reading one's own emotions, like the emotions of others, requires awareness of these states and includes paying attention to the skill of recognizing different emotions by distinguishing different psychological experiences and using various word fragments to decode emotions [20]. Therefore, having emotional creativity helps mothers of adolescents with autism to adapt to situations and honestly express their experiences and understand their emotions and show more willingness to explore their emotions than others. This emotional creativity can help mothers of adolescents with autism to blame themselves less for their child's problems and to express less self-criticism. The less they blame themselves, the less they respond to negative events through rumination, and this less rumination makes them show better strength, resilience, and psychological stability in the face of the challenges of caring for a child with autism. Therefore, it is logical to say that rumination plays a mediating role in the relationship between emotional creativity and mental toughness of mothers of adolescents with autism.
Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
In the present study, the ethical approval of research, including secrecy, confidentiality and privacy of individuals, were observed, and participation in the research did not cause any possible harm to the participants. Ethical approval: The Ethics Committee of Se.C. Islamic Azad University, Semnan, Iran, approved the study (IR.IAU.SEMNAN.REC.1404.025).
Funding
This study did not have any funds.
Authors’ Contribution
This article is taken from the doctoral dissertation of the first author, and the following authors, as supervisors and advisors, perform the role of guidance and supervision for the proper conduct and implementation of the research.
Conflict of interest
None to declare
Acknowledgments
We thank and appreciate all the people and participants (mothers of adolescents with autism) who helped us in conducting this research.