Association between Maternal Cognitive Fusion and Depression and Children’s Sadness Management in Students with Specific Learning Disorders through an Artificial Neural Network

Background: Children’s behavioral issues may arise from maternal depression, which can also hinder a child’s mental development compared to their peers. This study aimed to assess the correlation between maternal cognitive fusion, maternal depression, and children’s management of sadness in students with specific learning disorders (SLD).Methods: The statistical population for this descriptive-correlational study included all male and female fourth-graders and fifthgraders with SLD, along with their mothers, in Karaj, Alborz Province, Iran, in 2022. A multistage cluster sampling technique was employed to select a research sample of 252 individuals. The research utilized the Children’s Sadness Management Scale (CSMS), Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ), and Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI-13) as assessment tools. Data analysis involved Pearson’s correlation coefficient, multiple regression, and an artificial neural network (ANN). The data were ultimately analyzed using SPSS version 27 and MATLAB-2019.Results: The mean and standard deviation (SD) for maternal depression, maternal cognitive fusion, and children’s sadness management were 27.96±6.73, 50.61±10.49, and 15.90±4.43, respectively. The research results indicated a positive and significant association between maternal cognitive fusion and children’s sadness management (P 0.001). Conversely, there was a negative and significant association between maternal depression and children’s sadness management (P 0.001). According to the ANN findings, maternal depression exhibited a stronger correlation with children’s sadness management.Conclusion: The findings highlighted that maternal depression exhibits the most substantial correlation with children’s sadness management. Consequently, the development of training programs and workshops targeting the mitigation of maternal depression for mothers of children with SLD is recommended.