Examining Care Burden, Social Support, and Loneliness in Parents of Children with Cerebral Palsy

Background: In studies examining parents' burden of care, social support and loneliness, either mothers were studied only, or mothers that made up the majority of the sample were studied. It is thought that fathers as well as mothers are involved in the care of their children and are affected by the negative consequences of this process. Objective: This study was conducted to investigate care burden, social support, and loneliness in parents of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Methodology: This study was carried out as a descriptive study with parents of 178 children with CP for whom both parents could be reached. The Descriptive Information Form, Burden Interview, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and UCLA Loneliness Scale were used as data collection tools. Results: It was determined that the care burden for mothers was higher than the care burden for fathers and that mothers' perceived social support and loneliness levels were lower. In addition, it was determined that there was no significant correlation between the care burden, social support, and loneliness levels of mothers and fathers. As a result of the structural equation model, it was determined that the social support of the parents had a significant effect on the care burden (ß = -0.105; p