Abstract:

In this research, hopelessness levels of parents who have children with special needs were analysed according to several variables and anxiety states. Data were obtained from 351 parents living in the city of Burdur in 2015. In the analysis of data, F test and t Test were used for the relation between the independent variables and the dependent variables. Scheffe�s Test was conducted for the source of the difference. As data collection tools; the State-Trait Anxiety Inventories TX-1 and TX-2 (Oner and Le Compte, 1983) were used for the anxiety states of the parents who have children with special needs, and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (Seber, 1991) was used to determine the hopelessness levels. According to the results, not the mean score of motivation loss, but the mean scores of feelings about the future, expectations, and hopelessness of the parents were found not to differentiate significantly according to age. The mean score of state anxiety of the employed parents was significantly higher than that of the unemployed. Both the state and the trait anxieties were found to have a significant impact on feelings about the future, motivation loss, expectations, and hopelessness. State anxiety and trait anxiety, when considered together, were found to account for 15% of feelings about the future, 17% of motivation loss, 23% of expectations, and 27% of hopelessness. According to these results, it can be said that there is a close relation between anxiety and hopelessness.

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