Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHIATRY, 2020 (SSCI İndekslerine Giren Dergi)
Background: It is important to identify problem areas of parents with mentally disabled children, to support them, to
address their stress sources and to effectively cope with them. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of training
given to parents with mentally disabled children on their life satisfaction, self-stigma of seeking help, depression and
stress-coping styles.
Material: Families with disabled children who continued their education at the Special Education Centers in Sivas
created the sample of this pre- and post-test study (with control group). The data were collected with the Satisfaction
With Life Scale (SWLS), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Self-Stigma of Seeking Psychological Help Scale
(SSPHS) and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ). The scales were re-applied to the experimental group (n = 75)
after the application of scales and 5-week training. Individuals in the control group were not given any training. The
Mann–Whitney U test, t test and Kruskal–Wallis variance analysis were used in the evaluation of the data.
Results: The mean SWLS score was 19.14 ± 7.24 (min: 3; max: 31) before the training and 21.68 ± 7.39 (min: 6; max:
35) after the training. The mean BDI score was 16.92 ± 10.84 (min: 1; max: 60) before the training and 10.24 ± 7.77
(min: 0; max: 33) after the training. The mean SSPHS score was 58.18 ± 9.96 (min: 32; max: 82) before the training and
52.65 ± 14.28 (min: 28; max: 84) after the training. The mean optimistic approach score of SSPHS was 9.73 ± 2.67 (min:
2; max: 15) before the training and 10.58 ± 2.19 (min: 4; max: 15) after the training. It was determined that the difference
between mean scores of the control group before and after the training was not significant (p > .05).
Conclusion: The training has positively affected the decrease in depression and self-stigmatization, and the increase in
life satisfaction and stress-coping styles after the training. It is recommended to plan research studies to identify the need
for support of parents, and to structure the trainings to be given according to the results of the educational intervention
researches.