Abstract:

The research was conducted to determine and compare the stress levels experienced by working and non-working mothers due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The research was carried out in two stages and both quantitative and qualitative research techniques were used together. In the first phase of the study, 420 working and non-working mothers were administered the scale, and as a result, it was determined that the stress level they experienced due to the COVID-19 outbreak differed between working and non-working mothers. It was found that the stress level experienced by non-working mothers was higher than that of working mothers. In the second phase of the study, 20 volunteer mothers were interviewed online. At this stage, it was aimed to determine the factors affecting the stress experienced by mothers. As a result of the interviews, it was determined that their children were the basis of the stress situations mothers experienced during the pandemic process. The areas where mothers experience stress related to their children were examined within the scope of health, education, mood, social relations and precaution themes. Five sub-themes were determined in the health theme, five in the education theme, five in the mood theme, five in the social relations theme and twenty in the precaution theme.