Examination of religious and spiritual effects in the coping processes of the mothers of children with down syndrome

In this study titled "Examination of Religious and Spiritual Effects on the Coping Processes of Mothers of Children with Down Syndrome", which is a field research, we examine the religious and spiritual orientations of parents from the first reaction they give after learning about the special situation of their children (that they have Down syndrome), and the role of religion in making sense of the situation they are experiencing. It is about the effects of religion and spirituality in coping with the effects and difficulties they face. In this study, interview and participant observa-tion techniques, which are qualitative research methods, were used. This research is a study conducted in the Bursa and Istanbul universe. Our sample group consisted of 25 volunteer participants, 24 mothers of children with Down syndrome and 1 cousin. In the light of the data obtained from the interviews, it was observed that parents turned to religious and spiritual concepts in making sense of their experiences. It has been determined that parents resort to many religious and non-religious coping activities in coping with the difficulties brought by Down syndrome. However, in the interviews conducted, mothers of children with Down syndrome tended to enga-ge in positive religious coping activities that positively affected their mental health, as well as negative religious coping activities that negatively affected their mental health.