Investigation of Recreation Area Participation Barriers of Families With Special Needs

Abstract

Families, as fundamental units of society, represent the primary social context in which individuals spend the majority of their lives. The objectives of parenthood generally include the aim to nurture healthy and contented children. However, the birth of a child with health issues often necessitates a reevaluation of these objectives. Such circumstances directly impact the standards of living and daily routines of many parents. Numerous scientific studies have explored the ramifications of these effects. This study aims to investigate the barriers that impede the participation of families with children with special needs in recreational activities. A total of 555 parents from Mersin Province were recruited using a purposive sampling method. The study utilized the Scale of Participation Barriers to the Use of Recreation Area, developed by Gümüş and Alay, along with an Information Request Form as the primary data collection tools. In addition to descriptive statistics, the study employed the t-test for comparing the averages of two independent groups with a normal distribution, and one-way variance analysis for analyzing three or more groups. The results of the analysis revealed that the most significant barriers to participation in recreational areas were related to the 'sports area barrier' (4.01), 'individual barrier' (3.34), and 'time barrier' (2.89).