The effect of parents' attitudes and anxiety of hospitalized children between 2-6 years of age on the anxiety level of the children

This research was conducted to examine the effects of the attitudes and anxiety of parents who have hospitalized children aged 2-6 on their children's anxiety level. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews with the parents of 150 children hospitalized in Sorgun State Hospital Pediatric Service. Parent and child socio-demographic information form, PAS-R Parent Version, Parental Attitude Scale (ETS) and Beck Anxiety Scale were used. In the evaluation of the data, normal distribution was calculated with the KolmogorovSmirnov test, and t test, ANOVA and Pearson Correlation analysis were used. The average age of the parents participating in the research is 32.71±4.62, 29.3% are secondary school graduates, 65.3% are housewives, 46.0% have 2 children, 64.0% have their children hospitalized. These are individuals who have slept several times before. The average age of the children is 4.05±1.21 and 50.0% are girls. 56.0% of the children had the disease within 3 days, and the diagnosis of the disease in 30.0% was fever/viral disease. While the parents received the highest mean score (38.97±6.47) from the authoritarian attitude, 27.4% were found to have mild anxiety. It was determined that the anxiety level was more severe in parents who helped with child care and a statistically significant relationship was found. While the democratic attitude mean score increased, an increase was observed in the PASR Mother and Father total and sub-dimensions, and a positive, significant relationship was detected between them. While the average score of parents' authoritarian attitude increases, in children; Social anxiety, generalized anxiety and separation anxiety decreased, and a negative and significant relationship was detected between them. It was found that as the anxiety level of the parents increased, the anxiety level of the children also increased. It was determined that as the anxiety level of the parents increased, the authoritarian attitude decreased. To the medical staff working in the pediatric clinic and all parents whose children are hospitalized; It is recommended to provide education and raise awareness about the fact that the child's anxiety is related to parental anxiety and the importance of parental attitudes. Keywords: Anxiety, parent, attitude, child, hospital