The Assessment of Factors Related to Family Life in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

Introduction: Many permanent problems can be seen together in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Therefore they need lifelong care and there are many factors that affect the family life of children with CP. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between factors such as the level of independence in daily living activities in children with CP, motor function levels, type of CP, and emotional state, cooperative activities, self-time, and family adjustment in the family. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and sixteen children with CP in an age range of 4-18 years were included in the study. The relationship between the WeeFIM, motor function levels, the number of siblings, and the parental impact-emotional, parental impact-time, family activities, and family cohesion domains of the CHQ-PF50 were examined. The effects of the type of CP on family life were investigated. Results: A positive weak correlation was observed between the WeeFIM, the number of siblings and CHQ-PF50 values (p<0.05). A negative weak correlation was observed between the motor function levels and parental impact-time (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was concluded that family life was positively affected with the increase in the independence levels of the children with CP in daily living activities. As the motor function levels of children with CP deteriorated, families were negatively affected in terms