Factors related to care burden of parents with a child with special needs in the Covid-19 pandemic

In this study, the mediating role of family protective factors in the relationship between the family needs of families with children with special needs and the caregiving burden of the family was examined. The study group consisted of 310 parents of children with special needs from Konya province. An appropriate sampling method was used while determining the study group and sampling was reached face to face. Personal Information Form, Family Needs Assessment Tool, Caregiving Burden Scale for Family Caregivers, and Protective Factors Scale in the Family were used to collect the data for the study. The mediating role of family protective factors in the relationship between family needs and the caregiving burden of families with children with special needs was tested using structural equation modeling. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 21.0 and AMOS software packages. According to the findings of the study, it was found that family protective factors partially mediate the relationship between family needs and caregiving burden. Family needs statistically significantly and positively predicted caregiving burden, while family needs statistically significantly negatively predicted family protective factors, and family protective factors statistically significantly and negatively predicted caregiving burden. The findings were discussed within the scope of the literature, and recommendations were made to researchers and practitioners. Keywords: family needs, family caregiving burden, family protective factors, children with special needs, families with children with special needs