Introduction
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID 19) spread rapidly across the world and
caused a pandemic.1 The COVID 19 pandemic not only
affected individuals in social, economic and mental areas, but also a
significant change occurred in their lifestyle.1,2
It is stated that the direct and indirect psychological and social
effects of the COVID 19 pandemic are widespread and it will adversely
affect mental health now or in the future.2 A serious
anxiety response occurs in people living in the regions where the
pandemic is experienced.3 Studies have revealed that
anxiety, depression and sleep problems are common in adults during the
COVID 19 pandemic.4–6
The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in enormous disruptions to family
life.7 In addition to a sudden change in work life,
family life and social life routines, economic problems and fear of
pandemic negatively has affected the well-being of
parents.8 During this period, parents experience many
stress factors such the closure of schools and care facilities,
continuation of education at home, parents’ being unable to hug their
children with the fear of contamination and obligation to go to work.
Parents also may feel fear and uncertainty about how to keep their
families safe.9 All these issues may reveal mental
problems in parents and cause existing problems to get worse at the same
time. In addition, it is predicted that the COVID 19 pandemic will not
only cause mental problems but also cause an increase in future
anxiety.10 High levels of anxiety in parents are also
important in terms of causing an increase in children’s
anxiety7 and increasing the risk of harsh parenting
and maltreatment.11 The psychosocial effects of the
pandemic may occur over a long period of time on the parent and child
population. For this reason, it is critical to minimize the negative
effects that may be experienced in the long term by implementing early
interventions to reduce the level of anxiety.
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is a short, resource-oriented and
goal-oriented therapeutic approach that helps individuals change by
creating solutions.12 It is a therapy method that
focuses on individuals’ becoming aware of their potential revealing
their strengths.13,14 Focusing on the solution can
increase the self‐confidence of individuals, their capacity to produce
solutions, and their ability to see their strengths and positive
aspects.15 It is reported in the literature that
short-term therapies provide faster benefits than long-term
psychotherapies. For this reason, it is thought that short-term
therapies will be applied in a short time and have a rapid effect in
reducing the anxiety of parents during the pandemic. In the light of
this information, it is aimed to determine the anxiety levels of parents
with children between the ages of 3-6 in the COVID 19 pandemic and to
examine the effects of online SFBT, which is planned to be given to
parents with high anxiety levels in the study.
Research hypotheses are as follows;
H1 SFBT is an effective method in reducing the
state anxiety levels of parents with children aged 3-6.
H2 SFBT is an effective method in reducing
trait anxiety levels of parents with children aged 3-6.