The relationship between acceptance-rejection levels and depression in children of mothers whose children have been diagnosed with autism

The lives of parents whose children are diagnosed with autism are affected in many ways. Both the care and development of children with autism require more care than ordinary children. This situation can negatively affect the mood of the parents. Studies have shown that parents whose children have been diagnosed with autism are more prone to depression. When it comes to children with autism, besides depression, the level of acceptance and rejection that parents develop towards their children is also very important. The level of acceptance-rejection of parents with a child with autism can directly affect the healthy development of the child. When the studies on the subject were examined, a significant relationship was found between having a child with autism and the acceptance-rejection level of the parents/warmth-compassion sub-dimension. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between the acceptance-rejection levels of the children of mothers who have a child with autism and their depression levels. In addition, it was aimed to investigate whether the depression and acceptance-rejection levels of mothers with a child with autism differ according to the demographic characteristics of the mothers and the characteristics of the child regarding the diagnosis of autism. Relational and descriptive survey model was used in the research. The population of the research consists of mothers with a child with autism who come to the Asian Special Education and Rehabilitation Center, Istanbul ABA Therapy Center or Perception Special Education and Rehabilitation Center for treatment and rehabilitation in Istanbul. In the study, 300 mothers who met the necessary conditions were reached. In the study, sampling unit selection was made with convenience sampling method. The data of the research were analyzed with the SPSS 20 program. The distribution of the descriptive characteristics of the mothers is shown by frequency and percentage. Scores obtained from the scales are shown with mean and standard deviation. The differentiation status of the scores obtained from the scales according to the descriptive features were analyzed with the Mann Whitney U test and Kruskal Wallis H. The relationship between mothers' acceptance-rejection levels and their depression levels was examined by Spearman correlation analysis. The data of the research were analyzed at 95% confidence level. In the study, there was a positive correlation between the depression levels of mothers whose children were diagnosed with autism and their hostility towards the child; Again, a positive relationship was found between the depression levels of mothers and their attitudes to reject their children.