The depression level of the women whose husbands are in prison and their coping responses (The sample of Ceyhan province in Adana city)

An individual's imprisonment is a bad situation for the individual and the family. It can be argued that the wife and their children may be negatively affected due to the conviction of the spouse. The women who have to change roles because of the imprisonment of their husbands, may face depression. The aim of this research is to determine the levels of depression and the ways of coping with stress in women whose husbands are in prison. This research is a survey study. The study group consisted of 160 women with an incarcerated husband residing in the province of Ceyhan, Adana province. The study was carried out with the participation of 150 women identified according to the accessible sampling technique. The form used as a data collection tool included questions about demographic data, Begging Method Scale and Beck Depression Inventory. According to the findings of the study, the women whose husbands are in prison experienced depression at a low level. The participants sometimes resort to coping strategies. They often resorted to fatalism while they rarely accept responsibility. There is a weak but statistically significant relationship between depression and belief in supernatural powers and acceptance of responsibility. There is no significant relationship between the total scores of the scale and the depression. It has been determined that the coping strategies do not differ according to variables such as age, place of birth, residence, number of children, educational status, occupation, average monthly income, living house ownership, number of household members. However, it was determined that their coping strategies of women who receive guidance and counseling services from Social Services are higher than those who do not. İt was also found that experiencing depression do not differ according to the variables such as age, place of birth, residence, number of children, education status, occupation, average monthly income, living house ownership, number of household members, spousal penal status, receiving guidance and counseling services from Social Services and receiving social economic support from Social Services.