Evaluation of quality of life and hopelessness levels of parents of disabled children

Evaluation of Quality of Life and Hopelessness Levels of Parents of Disabled Children The research was conducted as a descriptive study to evaluate the quality of life and hopelessness levels of parents of disabled children. The sample of the research consisted of 172 parents whose children were educated in special education and rehabilitation centers in Rize City Center. The research was conducted between March 2022 and May 2024 using the "WHO Quality of Life Scale Short Form", "Beck Hopelessness Scale" and "Parent and Child Sociodemographic Information Form". Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, minimum-maximum values, independent groups T test, One-Way ANOVA Test, Pearson Correlation Analysis and Linear Regression analysis were used to evaluate the data. While 87.2 percent of the research was made up of mothers, 55.2 percent of disabled children were boys. Mothers' physical health scores, which are the sub-dimensions of the quality of life scale, are 65.96±11.20, psychological health scores are 64.75±10.82, social relations is 59.73±16.46, environmental health score is 71.60±10.03, fathers' physical health score is 73, 76±8.80, psychological health score 71.51±7.54, social relations 67.72±13.42, environmental health scores. It was found to be 80.10±8.66. It was determined that the average hopelessness total score of mothers was 8.64±4.49, and the total hopelessness score of fathers was 6.81±3.77. Quality of life scores of mothers with disabled children were lower, and total hopelessness scores were higher than fathers. In addition, it has been determined that factors such as the age of the disabled child, the total number of children in the family, the presence of another disabled child in the family, and the parents' ability to spare enough time for themselves also affect the situation of the disabled child. parents' quality of life and hopelessness levels. It was found that there was a moderate negative relationship between parents' quality of life and their hopelessness levels, and that the sub-dimensions of quality of life, namely psychological health, social relations and environmental domains, reduced the parents' total hopelessness scores, but the physical domain sub-dimension did not affect the parents' despair total scores.