The Family Burdens and Hopelessness of Turkish Parents of Adolescents With Intellectual Disabilities.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to determine the hopelessness and family burden levels of parents who have children with intellectual disabilities.

DESIGN: This was a descriptive correlational study.

METHODS: The study was conducted at a specialized education and rehabilitation center in Fethiye, Turkey, using the Sociodemographic Data Form, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Burden Assessment Scale for Families of Children With Intellectual Disabilities, and the study sample included a total of 95 parents of children with intellectual disabilities.

FINDINGS: A positive relationship was found between the total scores for hopelessness and the family burden including economic burden, perception of inadequacy, social burden, physical burden, emotional burden, and the required time (p < .05). The study found that the higher the level of family burden on parents, the more hopeless families felt.

CONCLUSION: This study's findings may help rehabilitation nurses to understand the hopelessness of parents and help them find appropriate resources to cope with their burden.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Nurses should be specialized in the field of rehabilitation and, as rehabilitation nurses, be included in providing integrated care, family education, and counseling services for disabled people in Turkey.