Despair as a Gateway: The Complete Mediating Role of Hopelessness in the Relationship Between Maternal Spiritual Coping and Life Satisfaction Among Mothers of Children with Disabilities

Mothers of children with developmental disabilities often experience high levels of stress and future anxiety. This study aims to examine the relationships between spiritual coping, hopelessness, and life satisfaction among mothers of children with developmental disabilities in Türkiye, and specifically to test the mediating role of hopelessness in the relationship between spiritual coping and life satisfaction. The study was conducted with 207 mothers whose children attend special education and rehabilitation centers. Data were collected using the Spiritual Coping Scale, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. The hypotheses were tested using mediation analysis (Process Macro Model 4). The findings demonstrated that spiritual coping has a significant positive direct effect on life satisfaction. Furthermore, hopelessness was found to play a partial mediating role in this relationship. Specifically, higher levels of spiritual coping were associated with reduced hopelessness, which in turn contributed to increased life satisfaction. The results suggest that spiritual coping serves as a protective resource that buffers the negative impact of future anxiety on mothers' well-being. These findings highlight the importance of integrating spiritual resources and cognitive restructuring techniques regarding hopelessness into psychosocial interventions, such as Spiritually Oriented Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (S-CBT), intended for mothers of children with disabilities.