Psychological Resilience in Families with Children with Special Needs: A Systematic Review in the Context of Special Education
Abstract views: 10
/ 
PDF downloads: 2
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18002449Keywords:
Psychological resilience, special needs child, family, special educationAbstract
This study aims to systematically examine research on psychological resilience among families raising children with special needs within the context of special education. The caregiving and educational responsibilities associated with children with special needs affect families’ psychological, social, and economic well-being in multiple ways. Therefore, psychological resilience defined as the capacity to cope effectively with adversity has become an increasingly significant concept in the field of special education. In this study, national and international articles published between 2010 and 2025 were reviewed based on predefined inclusion criteria. The literature search was conducted using the keywords “psychological resilience,” “resilience,” “special needs child,” “family,” and “special education.” The selected studies were analyzed in terms of sample characteristics, methodological approaches, relationships among variables, and main findings.
Findings indicate that the psychological resilience levels of parents raising children with special needs are closely related to variables such as social support, parenting attitudes, coping strategies, perceived stress levels, and the type of disability. It was found that psychological resilience increases significantly in families with strong intra-family communication, effective use of social support networks, and access to professional guidance services. Most of the reviewed studies employed descriptive or correlational designs, while qualitative and intervention-based studies were relatively limited.
In conclusion, this systematic review provides valuable insights into the integration of psychological resilience processes into special education practices. Future research should focus on culturally sensitive, longitudinal, and intervention-oriented designs to deepen understanding and enhance support for families of children with special needs.
References
Bayar, Y. ve Sayın, E. (2020). Psikolojik sağlamlığı artırmaya yönelik grup rehberliği programının özel gereksinimli çocuk ebeveynleri üzerindeki etkisi. Türk Psikolojik Danışma ve Rehberlik Dergisi, 12(63), 78–99.
Bayraktar, G. ve Kaner, S. (2019). Özel gereksinimli çocuk annelerinin psikolojik sağlamlık ve sosyal destek algılarının incelenmesi. Ankara Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi, 52(3), 721–744.
Bekhet, A. K., Johnson, N. L. ve Zauszniewski, J. A. (2012). Resilience in family members of persons with autism spectrum disorder: A review of the literature. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 33(10), 650–656.
Black, K. ve Lobo, M. (2008). A conceptual review of family resilience factors. Journal of Family Nursing, 14(1), 33–55.
Boztaş, Z. (2024). Sosyoekonomik değişkenlerin özel gereksinimli çocuk ebeveynlerinin psikolojik sağlamlığı üzerindeki etkisi. Uluslararası Özel Eğitim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 15(1), 112–128.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.
Chen, C., Liu, T., Zhang, J. ve Zhang, L. (2020). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on resilience and parental stress in parents of children with developmental disabilities. Mindfulness, 11(4), 942–952.
Dyson, L. L. (1997). Fathers and mothers of school-age children with developmental disabilities: Parental stress, family functioning, and social support. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 102(3), 267–279.
Froma, W. (2020). Family resilience: A developmental systems framework. Guilford Press
Guralnick, M. J. (2011). Why early intervention works: A systems perspective. Infants & Young Children, 24(1), 6–28.
Gürsoy, F. ve Kalkan, M. (2021). Aile dayanıklılığını güçlendirme programının özel gereksinimli çocuk ebeveynlerinin psikolojik sağlamlık düzeylerine etkisi. Türk Psikoloji Yazıları, 24(48), 85–102.
Hastings, R. P. (2002). Parental stress and positive perceptions in families of children with developmental disabilities. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 107(2), 116–127.
İnal, A. E. ve Aktürk, A. İ. (2022). Examination of the psychological resilience, family resilience and life satisfaction of the parents of children with special needs and the parents of children with normal development. Uluslararası Akademik Yönetim Bilimleri Dergisi, 8(12), 21–45.
İnceoğlu, S. ve Karataş, Z. (2021). Özel gereksinimli çocukların ebeveynlerinde sosyal destek ve psikolojik sağlamlık ilişkisi: Grup müdahalesi temelli bir çalışma. Türk Psikolojik Danışma ve Rehberlik Dergisi, 11(62), 145–164.
Kadı, S. ve Eldeniz Çetin, M. (2018). Investigating the resilience levels of parents with children with multiple disabilities based on different variables. European Journal of Educational Research, 7(2), 211–223.
Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D. ve Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71(3), 543–562.
Masten, A. S. (2014). Ordinary magic: Resilience in development. The Guilford Press.
Masten, A. S. (2018). Resilience theory and research on children and families: Past, present, and promise. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 10(1), 12–31.
Mizuno, E. ve Holloway, S. D. (2020). Parental resilience and social support among parents of children with developmental disabilities. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29(2), 420–432.
Paster, A., Brandwein, D. ve Walsh, J. (2009). Parenting a child with autism: A review of research and future directions. Journal of Family Psychology, 23(2), 177–189.
Pottie, C. G. ve Ingram, K. M. (2008). Daily stress, coping, and well-being in parents of children with autism: A multilevel modeling approach. Journal of Family Psychology, 22(6), 855–864.
Resch, J. A., Benz, M. R. ve Elliott, T. R. (2012). Evaluating a dynamic process model of wellbeing for parents of children with disabilities: A multi-method analysis. Rehabilitation Psychology, 57(1), 61–72.
Sixbey, M. T. (2005). Development of the family resilience assessment scale to identify family resilience constructs. (Yayımlanmamış doktora tezi). University of Florida.
Smith, L. E., Greenberg, J. S. ve Mailick, M. R. (2012). Adult outcomes of children with autism: Community inclusion and parent well-being. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53(9), 1009–1017.
Theron, L. (2020). Resilience of sub-Saharan children and adolescents: A scoping review. South African Journal of Psychology, 50(2), 159–173.
Ungar, M. (2011). The social ecology of resilience: Addressing contextual and cultural ambiguity of a nascent construct. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81(1), 1–17.
Walsh, F. (2016). Strengthening family resilience (3. baskı). Guilford Press.
Werner, E. E. ve Smith, R. S. (1982). Vulnerable but invincible: A longitudinal study of resilient children and youth. McGraw-Hill.
Yıldırım, A. ve Şimşek, H. (2021). Sosyal bilimlerde nitel araştırma yöntemleri (12. baskı). Seçkin Yayıncılık.
Yıldırım, F. ve Demir, Ö. (2020). Özel gereksinimli çocukların ailelerinde psikolojik sağlamlık ve sosyal destek ilişkisi. Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama Dergisi, 16(2), 235–252.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 ASES EDUSCI (INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES) ISSN: 2822-6844
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The journal is licensed under a 