Investigation of Anxiety and Depression in the Parents of Children Receiving Special Education for Speech and Language Therapy during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effects of possible disruptions in education and follow-up on anxiety and depression in parents of children receiving special education support for speech and language therapy. Materials and Methods A total of 111 parents whose children required special education due to speech and/or language impairments took part in the study. After obtaining the history of children receiving speech and language therapy that was interrupted due to the pandemic and the demographic information of the parents who filled out the questionnaire, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used to determine the parents' anxiety level and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale was used to determine their depression level. Results Due to COVID-19, 63.1 percent of the participants were unable to access special education for more than two months. While 62.2 percent of parents who completed the questionnaires did not feel hopeless or pessimistic about their children's future, 16.2 percent did. The parents who filled out the forms had high trait anxiety and medium-high state anxiety, according to their State Trait Anxiety scores. There was a positive statistically significant relationship between state anxiety and trait anxiety. Conclusion The anxiety levels of the parents were already high due to the situation of their children, and the interruption of education may have added to their anxiety.