Comparison of the life quality and alexithymia level of mothers with child with autism spectrum disorders and moms with normal development

The aim of this study is to compare the alexithymia and quality of life levels of mothers with children with autism spectrum disorders and mothers with children with normal development. The sample of the study consists of 228 mothers who have special education in Rehabilitation Centers affiliated to the Guidance and Research Centers of Istanbul and have a diagnosis of autism spectrum, and 137 mothers with children with normal development. The age range of children varies in the range of 3-16. The data of the study were obtained by the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale (Whoqol Bref-tr), Toronto Alexithymia Scale and Demographic Information Form prepared by the researcher. As a result of the T-test conducted to investigate whether there is a difference between the mothers with children with autism and mothers with children with normal development in terms of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale score averages; While it was determined that the mothers with children with autism had difficulty in recognizing emotions, difficulty in expressing their emotions and alexithymia, their total scores were significantly higher than those of mothers with normal developing children. According to the analyzes made for the Quality of Life Scale; It was found that the Physical Area, Spiritual Area, Environmental Area and Social Area scores of the mothers with children with autism were significantly lower than the scores of the mothers with normal developing children. According to regression analysis results to another finding of the research; It was determined that alexithymia levels of the mothers in both groups predicted the level of quality of life negatively.