Abstract
Purpose: Due to the Covid-19 outbreak all over the world, drastic measures were taken by countries. In this context measures such as curfew restrictions, closure of schools, restriction of social life, obligation to wear masks were taken, both these measurements and economical difficulties affected people in a psychological way. It is known that preschool children might show stress and anxiety reactions in the face of difficult life events such as epidemics. it is necessary to observe and follow the changes in children to keep the anxiety and stress as low as possible When the literature is examined, it is seen that due to it being recent there are only a few studies examining the impact of preschool children and parents from the epidemic process. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the situation of preschool children and their parents affected by the epidemic process in line with the opinions of their parents. Psychosocial Dimension: this research is limited to child and parent’s emotions and child-parent relation.
Method and Materials: Case study design was used in the study, which was built on a qualitative research method. The sample of the study consists of 32 parents with 48-72 months old children in the central district of Kars province. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview form with 32 parents and the data were collected by content analysis method.
Results: As a result of this research, it was tried to determine the psychosocial influence of preschool children and their parents during the pandemic process, changing living conditions, change in child's and parent's feelings and parent-child relationship. According to the findings, it was concluded that the pandemic process had a psychosocial effect on children and their parents. These effects are that there is a difference in the daily routine life of parents and children, parent-child communication and emotional responses. In line with the results of the research, it is recommended to provide support services to reduce the negative impact of the pandemic process on children, and to ensure coordinated work of psychologists, child development specialists, pediatricians, social workers and educators to raise awareness of parents.