Özet:

Background: Constant needs of children with cerebral palsy for special attention and care can increase burden and hopelessness levels in their mothers. Objectives: This study was directed towards determining burden and hopelessness levels and their relation to each other in mothers of children with cerebral palsy. Methods: The study was cross-sectional and performed on 59 women whose children had cerebral palsy and were followed in a pediatric neurology clinic of a university hospital between 2010 and 2012. Data were gathered with a general characteristics-form, Family Burden Assessment Scale for the Families of Children with Intellectual Disability and Beck Hopelessness Scale. They were analyzed with descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis. Results: Sixty-seven-point eight percent of the children with cerebral palsy (n = 40) had a severe disease activity and most of them had learning difficulties and limitations about performing selfcare, moving and communicating. Seventy-eight percent of the mothers (n = 46) reported to experience difficulty in caring their children. The mean hopelessness score of the mothers was 9.50 ± 5.10 and the mean score for family burden was 158.77 ± 37.18. A significant positive correlation was found between the hopelessness score and the family burden score (r = .58; p < .001). Conclusion: The study revealed that burden levels were high, but that hopelessness levels were low in the mothers of the children with cerebral palsy. It was also found that the levels of hopelessness of the mothers increased while their family burdens increased.

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