Investigation of the relationship between the adjustment levels of 2–12 year old children and the efficacy, psychological well-being and perceived social support levels of parents working as care staff in child homes

This study aimed to examine the relationship between the adjustment levels of children aged 2-12 years and their parents' efficacy, psychological well-being, and perceived social support levels. Purposeful sampling method was used in the study and 505 parents (442 mothers, 63 fathers) and their children (261 girls, 244 boys) working as care staff in Child Homes affiliated to the Child Homes Coordination Centers within the Ministry of Family and Social Services in NUTS 2 (26 sub-regions) provinces representing Turkey constituted the sample of the study. The research data were collected with the Voluntary Participation Form, Child/Parent Information Form, Child Adjustment and Parent Efficacy Scale 2 - 12 Years (CAPES-TR), Psychological Well-being Scale, Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale. Independent Groups t-test, One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Pearson Correlation Coefficient, Multiple Linear, and Hierarchical Regression Analysis were used in the analysis of the data. It was determined whether the scale scores differed according to different demographic variables. It was significant but negligible level relationship between the adjustment levels of the children and the perceived social support levels of their parents, a significant weak and negative relationship was found between the psychological well-being levels and a significant moderate and negative relationship was found between the efficacy levels. A significant weak and positive relationship was found between parents' efficacy levels and perceived social support levels, and a significant moderate and positive relationship was found between psychological well-being levels. A significant weak and positive relationship was revealed between the psychological well-being levels of the parents and their perceived social support levels. In addition, parental efficacy and psychological well-being were found to predict 33% of the total variance in child adjustment. The findings were discussed in line with the literature and suggestions were presented. Key Words: Adjustment, self efficacy, mental health, perceived social support