The Relationship Between Mothers' Optimism and Children's Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Mothers' Psychological Resilience

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the relationships between mothers' optimism, psychological resilience, and children's anxiety, focusing on the mediating role of psychological resilience in T & uuml;rkiye. Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 394 mothers with children aged 4-6 through an online survey. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the data. The findings indicated a positive association between mothers' optimism and psychological resilience, and a negative association between psychological resilience and children's anxiety levels. Moreover, psychological resilience served as a mediator, indicating that mothers' optimism indirectly reduced children's anxiety by increasing psychological resilience. These findings highlight the protective role of maternal resilience in reducing children's anxiety and suggest that interventions aimed at strengthening mothers' resilience may contribute to improving children's emotional well-being.