Life satisfaction, social comparison and psychological resilience levels of parents with special needs children

In this study, it was aimed to reveal the levels of life satisfaction, social comparison and psychological resilience of parents with special needs children and the relationship between them. The population of the study consisted of 13350 parents of students with special needs attending special education schools and special education classes in the region, followed by Guidance Research Centers in Izmir province in the 2022-2023 academic year. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 618 parents who could be reached from this population through convenience sampling method. As data collection tools in the study, "Life Satisfaction Scale" developed by Dağlı and Baysal (2016), "Social Comparison Scale" developed by Şahin, Durak and Şahin (1993) and "Brief Psychological Resilience Scale'' developed by Doğan (2015) was used. The findings from the research: Parents' life satisfaction and psychological resilience levels were found to be moderate, and social comparison levels were found to be above average. A significant relationship was found between life satisfaction, social comparison and psychological resilience levels of parents with children with special needs. No significant difference was found between the life satisfaction levels of parents of children with special needs and gender, age, gender of the child and age of the child. It was found that life satisfaction levels of parents with children with special needs differed significantly with the variables of number of children with special needs, educational status, marital status, employment status, perceived economic income, the factor that the parent sees as the cause of special needs, communication between spouses and family support status. No significant difference was found between the social comparison levels of parents of children with special needs and gender, age, gender of the child and age of the child. The social comparison levels of parents with children with special needs differed significantly with the variables of number of children with special needs, educational status, marital status, employment status, perceived economic income, the factor that the parent sees as the cause of special needs, communication between spouses and family support status. No significant difference was found between the psychological resilience levels of parents of children with special needs and gender, age, gender of the child and age of the child. The psychological resilience levels of parents with children with special needs differed significantly with the variables of number of children with special needs, educational status, marital status, employment status, perceived economic income, the factor that the parent sees as the cause of special needs, communication between spouses and family support status. Keywords: Special Needs, Parent, Life Satisfaction, Social Comparison, Psychological Resilience, Curriculum, Family, Children.