Social support and anxiety levels of parents with disabled children.

Purpose: This is a descriptive study carried out to determine the state-trait anxiety and social support perceptions of parents with disabled children.

Design/methods: This study has been carried out on 75 parents whose children attended the Private Rehabilitation Center. The data included the personal information form composed by the investigators, the state-trait anxiety inventory, and the multi-dimensional scale of perceived social support.

Findings: The disabilities of the children were mental in 26.7%, physical in 25.3%, and physical/mental in 12%. As the degree of disability increased and the income levels decreased, the trait anxiety scores of the parents increased. There was a significant negative correlation between parental age and social support. Among the parents, 37.3% experienced problems with their spouses after having a child with a disability.

Conclusions: The development and implementation of alternative support systems for of parents with disabled children would be beneficial.