Investigation of anxiety, depression and social skill levels of preschool children whose mothers are working and not working

The aim of this study is to examine the anxiety, depression and social skill levels of preschool children whose mothers are working and not working. The sample of research in this study consists of pre-school children between the ages of four and six living in the city center of Mus, Turkey. The research was conducted with 325 parents consisting of 261 (80.3%) mothers and 64 (19.7%) fathers. At the same time, Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (CASS-Y), Social Skills Assessment Scale (SSS) and Family Information Form were applied to these participants. In order to examine whether or not the anxiety, depression and social skill levels of children differ according to demographic variables, t-test (Mann-Withney U test) was used in pairwise comparisons, and also, analysis of variance (Kruskal Wallis-H test) and correlation test (Spearman Correlation Test) were performed in multiple comparisons. The results of the study indicated that there is a relationship between the working status of the mother and her children's obsessive compulsive disorder and self-control skills. A significant relationship was found between the variables of perceived economic status and the time children spend with technological devices during the day, and their anxiety, depression and social skills. Besides all of these, while there was a significant relationship between parental education level, occupation variables and obsessive compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety, self-control and listening skills, no significant relationship was found between the variables of family structure, kinship tie and time spent with the child, and his/her anxiety, depression and social skill levels. Finally, it was concluded that as children's social skills increased, their anxiety and depression levels decreased. In addition, these obtained as a result of the study were discussed within the framework of the relevant academic literature, and the necessary results and suggestions were presented. Keywords: Working Mother, Preschool Period, Anxiety, Depression, Social Skills