This research was conducted to examine the correlation between depression and hopelessness levels in mothers of disabled children between the ages 5 and 7. A total of 126 mothers of children with disabilities was used in the study. They were obtained from the nursery schools of the First Education Schools of the Ministry of Education or from private schools. In this study the Beck Depression Scale (Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock, & Erbaugh, 1961), Beck Hopelessness Scale (Beck, Lester, & Trexler, 1974) and a General Information Form (Ceylan & Aral, 2005) were used for statistical analyses. The findings suggested a significant correlation between the depression and hopelessness levels of mothers of disabled children (p < .01).

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The relationship between teachers' professional self-esteem and empathic skills was assessed. Participants were 216 female teachers working in preschools in the city center of Ankara. Data were gathered using a general information form; the Scale for Professional Self-Esteem (Arıcak, 1999) was used to measure teachers' professional self-esteem; and empathic skills were measured with the Scale for Empathic Skills - B Form (Dökmen, 1988). A positive relationship was found between teachers' professional self-esteem and empathic skills (r = .17, p > .05).

To measure depression in mothers of 5 to 7-yr.-old children with disabilities and to find out whether mothers' depression varied by sex of the child, 126 mothers from Ankara participated; 59 were mothers of children with disabilities who participated in integrated education and attended preschool classes in public schools and, as a comparison group, 67 were mothers of children with disabilities of similar age and characteristics who did not participate in integrated education while attending public and private schools. In the study, the Beck Depression Scale and General Information Forms were used. Depression in mothers of children with disabilities who did not participate in integrated education was higher than in mothers of children with disabilities who participated in integrated education.

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