The Effect of Family Counseling on Anxiety, Depression, and Stress
Levels in Mothers of Disabled Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of family
counseling on anxiety, depression, and stress levels in mothers with
disabled children. Method: The research was conducted on the mothers of
80 randomly selected kids out of 200 disabled children studying at a
Private Education and Rehabilitation Center. Six family counseling
sessions were provided to the mothers in the study groups as eight
participants per group. The primary outcomes of the study were changes
in Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) scores of the mothers at the beginning of
the study; right after the counseling was finished, and three months
later. The mean PSS, BDI, and BAI scores in the second tests performed
right after the six counseling sessions were significantly lower than
the average scores in the first tests (p<0.001,
p<0.001, and p<0.001, respectively). There was no
significant difference between the 1st and 2nd PSS, BDI, and BAI mean
scores of the mothers in the control group (p>0.05).
Conclusion: Mothers of disabled children were exposed to anxiety,
depression, and stress more than other society members. Thus, they need
more psychological support. Family counseling can meet disabled
children’s mothers’ support needs. The counseling program we applied had
positive effects on mothers’ anxiety, depression, and stress scores. By
expanding this counseling service in primary health care services,
mothers with disabled children can cope more easily with their
psychological burden.