Improving resilience in mothers with schizophrenic sons: A group movie analysis

Previous studies have demonstrated the positive effects of film screening for raising awareness and improving treatment in various clinical groups. This study not only focused on film screening but also paid special attention to pre-screening group analysis to explore the effectiveness of group movie analysis on mothers with schizophrenic sons.

The present study was conducted using a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test and a control group. The research population included all mothers with schizophrenic sons who had enrolled in the Iranian Society Supporting Individuals with Schizophrenia in Tehran in 2021. The participants were 30 mothers with schizophrenic sons who were selected based on the inclusion criteria and were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The participants in the intervention group attended 12 film therapy analysis sessions (one session per week). The data were collected using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Statistical analyses were performed using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).

The results showed a significant difference between the mean scores of resilience for the participants before (M = 28.89) and after the film therapy analysis intervention (M = 52.56, F = 6.15, p = .0001).

Film therapy analysis was effective in improving the resilience of mothers with schizophrenic sons. It seems that movie screening with the group analysis afterward contributed to sharing the experiences of caring for the sick child and creating a sense of empathy in mothers. Thus, group movie analysis can be used as a suitable option to reduce the psychological distress of mothers with schizophrenic sons and improve their quality of life.