Analysis of depression and life quality of mothers and fathers of children who take treatment in the special education centers

The aim of this study is to analyze the life quality and depression of parents of children who take treatment in the special education and rehabilitation centers. The study is carried in İstanbul Bilim University, Health Institute, Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Department. The cases are taken from Özel Bölge Özel Eğitim ve Rehabilitasyon Merkezi in Bağcılar, İstanbul, Turkey. Participants of this study are mothers and fathers of 39 children with cerebral palsy (SP) and 6 children with spina bifida (SB) who take rehabilitation in the rehabilitation center. WeeFIM is used to determine children's functional independence. Medical history, details of the childrens' illness and social demographic status of the family are questioned. We measured depression level, life quality, anxiety and stress levels of the parents. Beck Depression Scale was used to determine depression level. WHOQOL-BREF-TR was used to understand the level of quality of life. Beck Anxiety Scale was used to determine anxiety level. Perceived Stress Scale was used to understand the stress level of the parents. We used SPSS Version 18.0 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) to analyze the data gathered for the study. We used Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test to evaluate the distribution of the data related to the demographic characteristics of the cases in special education and rehabilitation center. The information of the cases like diagnosis, gender, ambulation status was evaluated by One Sample t-test. The life quality, depression level, anxiety level and stress level of the parents of the cases were compared to the data received by the scale results used to evaluate the functional independence of the cases by the use of Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test. The relation among the evaluated parameters was analyzed by Spearman Test. It is seen by this study that the depression, stress and anxiety level of the mothers are higher than the fathers. The analysis of the socialdemographic data shows that there is a negative correlation between the father's education level and life quality; life quality decreases whilst the education level increases. It is also observed that the anxiety level of the mothers increases with the improvement of their social relations. In conclusion of this study, it is understood that a broader perspective is to be brought to the treatment of the disabled children including the parents and the parents are also to be included in the treatment and support especially taking into consideration their roles in life and psychological situations if required. Key Words: Depression, Quality of Life, Special Education, Serebral Palsy, Spina Bifida