Investigation of Life Satisfaction and Trait Anxiety of Families of Individuals with Down Syndrome and Autism Participating in Recreative Activities

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the happiness and trait anxiety of families with Down syndrome and autism participating in recreational activities. While the population of the research consists of special education centers in Ankara, Konya, Malatya in 2019-2020, the volunteers who receive education in special education centers in these provinces are mothers and fathers with Down syndrome and autism. A total of 120 people were reached in the study and 17 people were excluded from the data set due to data editing. The Demographic Characteristics Information Form written by the researchers was used for this molding form section, and the Oxford Happiness Scale, a scale developed by Hills and Argyle (2002), and the Trait Anxiety Scale were used to use the happiness levels of the families. Families' stress and anxiety levels were recorded to create. That trait anxiety is interrupted is supported by Spielberger et al. (1970). It was adapted into Turkish by Oner and Le Compte (1974-1977) and validity and reliability studies were conducted. In our study, the reliability coefficients recorded for the "Trait Anxiety Scale" according to the Alpha symptoms are between 0.83 and 0.87. The data obtained from the questionnaire and scale applications aiming to examine the happiness and trait anxiety levels of families with Down syndrome and autism participating in recreational activities were evaluated with SPSS 25 package program. It was tested with the Kolmogorov Smirnov Test that the data with more than 70 observations did not show normal distribution. Since it was understood that the data showed normal distribution and parametric tests were provided, parametric tests were approved in the analyzes. Frequency distributions were calculated according to the gender, age, education level and monthly income levels of the participants. As a result, both in the literature and in our detailed research, it is seen that recreational activities and exercise increase the degree of happiness and trait anxiety in disabled individuals. Based on the worldwide study and many other points, we should contribute to the empowerment of the disabled community and contribute to their orientation towards sports in order to increase their anxiety and strengthen their standards.