Impact of Mindfulness Meditation Practices on Self-Efficacyamong Parents of Children with Thalassemia Major

Abstract

Thalassemia is a hereditary blood disorder that poses significant physical, emotional and
psychological challenges not only for children but also for their parents. Due to the chronic
nature of the illness and long-term caregiving responsibilities, parents of those children
often experience continuous psychological stress. Such challenges may negatively affect
parents’ belief in their ability to manage caregiving demands, referred to as self-efficacy.
Mindfulness meditation has been recognized as an effective psychological intervention that
promotes emotional regulation, awareness, and adaptive coping. The present study
examined the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation practices in enhancing self-efficacy
among parents of children with thalassemia major. A sample of 40 parents (20 mothers and
20 fathers) aged between 25 to 50 years were selected purposefully from Sharda Narayan
Hospital, Mau, UP. A pretest-posttest control group design was used, wherein participants
were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group. Participants of
experimental group were provided with a structured mindfulness meditation sessions for a
period of three month, while the control group did not receive any intervention. Self –
Efficacy was measured using a standardized scale before and after the intervention. Mixed
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used for statistical analysis. The result revealed a
statistically significant improvement in self- efficacy scores among experimental group as
compared to control group. A significant difference was also observed between pretest and
posttest scores. However, no significant gender difference was found between mothers and
fathers. Thus, the intervention was found to be effective in improving self-efficacy among
parents of children with thalassemia major.