Background: Adolescents living in residential care centers often experience significant difficulties in psychological well-being and social adjustment due to their unique and vulnerable circumstances. Despite the importance of supporting this group, few studies have examined the impact of educational programs for caregivers in these settings.
Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the “Effective Caregiver” educational program on improving psychological well-being and individual and social adjustment among adolescents in residential care centers.
Methods: A quasi-experimental design with pre-test/post-test and a control group was used. The statistical population included all adolescents in residential care centers supervised by the Welfare Organization in East Azerbaijan Province. Through simple random sampling, 28 adolescents were selected and randomly assigned to experimental (n=14) and control (n=14) groups. The experimental group participated in a 10-session educational program based on attachment theory, social support, and social learning theory, adapted to adolescent development and care center challenges. Psychological well-being was assessed using Ryff’s scale (1989), and personality and adjustment were measured using the California Personality Inventory (CPI; Clark et al., 1939). Data were analyzed using MANCOVA in SPSS-26 at a significance level of P < 0.05.
Results: The “Effective Caregiver” program significantly improved psychological well-being and individual/social adjustment in the experimental group compared to controls (P < 0.05). The largest effect was seen in “positive relations with others” (effect size = 0.535) and social adjustment (effect size = 0.620).
Conclusion: The findings suggest that training caregivers can be an effective strategy for promoting mental health and adjustment among adolescents in residential care. Policymakers are encouraged to integrate such programs into support services for these youth.