@2024 Afarand., IRAN

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ISSN: 2008-2630    Iranian Journal of War & Public Health 2020;12(2):85-91

Background
Due to veterans' significant injuries, their need for care from family members increases, which can reduce the mental health of their family members, especially children [1].
Previous Studies
The father has a more effective role in teaching children the rules of cognitive values and increasing their mental well-being [2]. Islamowski & Dan indicated that psychological well-being refers to a sense of health that encompasses full awareness of wholeness and integrity in all aspects of the individual [3]. ...[4-6]. Psychological well-being through the positive development of emotions can affect different aspects of people's lives, and it can be considered a basic factor for effective compatibility to stressful and challenging situations [7]. ...[8]. Happiness is another factor that interacts with psychological well-being [9]. ...[10-16]. Communication skills include listening skills, the ability to receive and send verbal and non-verbal messages, communication with decisiveness, insights into the process of communication, and emotional control [17]. Social skills are the skills needed to perform purposeful and successful behavior, and they are the foundation of a successful relationship. ...[18-20].
Aim(s)
This study aimed to investigate the effect of social and communication skills training on female students' psychological well-being and happiness with martyred and veteran Parents.
Research type
This is a quasi-experimental study.
Research society, place and time
This study's statistical population was female students with martyred and veteran parents in public universities of Shahrekord province (n=285) in 2018-2019.
Sampling method and number
In educational researches, a sample size between 15 to 25 people is desirable [21], and the sample group consisted of 50 female students with martyred and veteran parents selected by available sampling. Inclusion criteria included being a public university student, having no mental disorder, having martyred and veteran parents, earning a grade below average, and willingness to attend training sessions. Exclusion criteria for this study were attending other group meetings at the same time, absence for more than two sessions, and reluctance to attend training sessions.
Used devices&materials
The research tool included the following questionnaires: 1. Psychological well-being questionnaire: Psychological well-being in this study was assessed using the 18-item Reef and Keynes scale [22], based on a 6-point Likert scale (from strongly disagree to agree strongly). This questionnaire measures six different psychological well-being components (self-acceptance, positive relationships with others, autonomy, environmental control, purposeful life, and personal growth). The validity of this questionnaire has been confirmed in many types of research. Bayani et al. [23] retested this scale's reliability coefficient as 0.82 and the subscales of self-acceptance, positive relationships with others, autonomy, environmental control, purposeful life, and personal growth 0.71, 0.77, 0.78, 0.77, 0.70, and 0.78, respectively. The reliability of this questionnaire in this study was obtained 0.73 by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. 2. Happiness Questionnaire: This questionnaire was developed by Argyle & Crossland [24]. This questionnaire has 29 items and has five subscales of satisfaction, positive mood, health, efficiency, and self-esteem. The scoring method of this questionnaire is based on the 4-item Likert scale (0-3). Each person judges their emotions from great happiness to unhappy feelings. Accordingly, a person's score is between 0-87, and a higher score indicates greater happiness. This questionnaire has three dimensions of positive emotion, satisfaction, and lack of negative emotion. Argyle & Crossland reported the questionnaire's reliability using Cronbach's alpha coefficient by 0.90 and its retest reliability by 0.78 over seven weeks. This questionnaire's simultaneous validity was calculated to be 0.43 using the evaluation of people's friends' opinions about them. This questionnaire's correlation with positive emotion scale, satisfaction index of Argyle life, and Beck depression inventory was 0.32, 0.57, and 0.52. Alipour & Agahis Harris [25] obtained this questionnaire's reliability by Cronbach's alpha method at a 0.91 level. In the study of Alipour & Noorbala [26], the validity of the Persian version of the Oxford happiness questionnaire using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient, split half, and Guttman methods were 0.93, 0.58, and 0.91, respectively. Ethical principles of the research included no compulsion to attend or continue training sessions, maintain confidentiality, avoid disclosing the participants' identities, and present the results in the group mood without mentioning the participants' names. Ethically, it was decided that after the end of the research, training sessions be held for the control group. After preparing the list of students, questionnaires were distributed among 180 of them. Fifty students with lower scores than average scores were screened and divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received 90 minutes of social and communication skills training in 10 sessions. Also, the posttest was performed, and the follow-up was performed after a month and a half. The training sessions were based on the social skills training package [27] as well as the life skills training book for students [28]. The obtained data were analyzed at two levels of descriptive statistics and inferential analysis using variance analysis by repeated measures and SPSS 22 software.
Findings by Text
Examination of the sample group's demographic information showed that seven subjects had martyred parents and 18 subjects had veteran parents in the experimental group. In the control group, six subjects had martyred parents, and 19 subjects had veteran parents. Also, the average age of the experimental and control groups were 26.00±1.32 and 25.90±2.41, respectively. The mean and range of scores of the variables have shown in Table 2. The necessary assumptions were made to perform variance analysis by repeated measures, including random division of individuals in the experimental and control groups. The normality of the scores' distribution was assessed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and the distribution of scores was normal. Homogeneity of the variance of data was evaluated by Levin test that there was no significant difference in variance between the two groups (p<0.05), and the condition of equality of variances was established. Also, no significant difference between the two groups' pretest was assessed using an independent t-test, and there was no significant difference between the two groups (p<0.05). Examination of the same assumptions of the Mbox test variance matrix showed that the same assumption of the variance matrix was established (psychological well-being: F=2.08 and p=0.92 and happiness: F=11.91 and p=0.08). The Mauchly's sphericity test was also examined, and the results showed that this test was not estimated in psychological well-being (W=0.98, p=0.11) and happiness (W=0.61, p=0.001); and based on this, the Greenhouse-Geisser test was used. Therefore, after the calculations, the results of the analysis of variance with repeated measurements were presented (Table 3).The variance analysis results by repeated measures showed that the mean scores of psychological well-being and happiness changed significantly (p<0.05), regardless of the effect of grouping during the posttest and follow-up stages. The results of the second rows of Table 3 indicated that the grouping variable (social and communication skills), regardless of stages (pretest, posttest, and follow-up), had a significant effect on psychological well-being and happiness (p<0.05). The row on the interaction between grouping and stages indicated that social and communication skills training affected psychological well-being and happiness. Bonferroni post hoc test was used to evaluate the pairwise differences (Table 4). There was a significant difference between the mean scores of pretest, posttest, and follow-up stages in the experimental group's psychological well-being variable (p<0.05). There was no significant difference between posttest and follow-up stages (p<0.05). There was no significant difference between the three stages in the control group (p<0.05). Also, there was a significant difference between the mean scores of pre-test-post-test, pre-test-follow-up in the happiness variable in the experimental group (p<0.05), but there was no significant difference between posttest and follow-up stages (p<0.05). There was no significant difference between the three stages in the control group (p<0.05). Teaching social and communication skills with a cognitive-behavioral approach was effective on female students' psychological well-being and happiness with martyred and veteran parents.
Main comparison to the similar studies
The results showed that group training of social and communication skills with a cognitive-behavioral approach led to increased psychological well-being and students' happiness. Communication skills training led to improved happiness, also social and communication skills training led to increased psychological well-being, and in this regard, it is in line with the findings of some studies [18, 20, 22]. ...[30, 31]. Happiness is the evaluation of people about themselves and their lives. These evaluations can be cognitive, such as judgments about life satisfaction or emotional, which includes moods and emotions that appear in response to life events [33]. Accordingly, people can have a better view of one's abilities and make more positive judgments about one's life, and the cognitive dimension of happiness increases when they establish better social interactions and increases their circle of friends, or when they learn conflict management and can face challenges; or when they can control negative emotions such as anger.
Suggestions
It is suggested that the type of disability and the severity of problems be considered in future research. Also, considering the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral skills training in social and communication skills, it is suggested that the student counseling centers, the Martyr Foundation, and the Veterans Affairs hold courses to improve social and communication skills.
Limitations
Due to access restrictions, the type of fathers' veterans (mental or physical veterans or both) and the severity of the injuries were not considered.
Conclusions
Group training of social and communication skills with a cognitive-behavioral approach leads to increased psychological well-being and happiness of female students with martyred and veteran parents.
Acknowledgments
We appreciated the cooperation of the Martyr and Veterans Affairs Foundation of Shahrekord city and the students with martyred and veteran parents who participated in this research.
Conflict of interest
This research is retrieved from the first author's doctoral dissertation.
Ethical Permissions
The present study results from a doctoral dissertation in general psychology at the Islamic Azad University of Shahrekord, with the code of the Ethics Committee (1399.015).
Funding Sources
This research is not funded.

TABLES and CHARTS

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