The Examination of the Relationship Between Psychological Flexibility Level and Problem-Solving Skills of Students in Special Education Departments

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between psychological flexibility level and problem-solving skills among students in special education departments. The research group consists of 453 special education students, who reached through criterion sampling technique. Of these students, 325 (71.7%) are females and 128 (28.3%) are males. The research data were collected face-to-face using the scales. Participants volunteered to take part in the research. The research model of this study was the correlational survey model, which is one of the quantitative research methods. The Acceptance and Action Form II Scale was used as a data collection tool to measure psychological flexibility, the Adult Problem-Solving Skills Scale was used to measure problem-solving skills, and the Personal Information Form was used to determine the gender and class level of participants. For analyzing the data, descriptive statistic, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson Correlation Coefficient analysis, and Simple Linear Regression analysis were used. According to the findings of the study are; there is no significant difference in the problem-solving skills of special education department students according to their gender (t451=802, p>.05). There is a significant difference in the problem-solving skills of special education department students according to their grade levels (F3-449=2.899, p<.05). The scores of first-year students (x̄=69.96) are statistically significantly higher than those of fourth-year students (x̄=66.13). A low-level, positive, and statistically significant relationship was found between the psychological flexibility level and problem-solving skills of special education department students (r=.147, p<.05). The regression analysis revealed that psychological flexibility level scores significantly predict problem-solving skills scores (F1-451=9.934, R=.14, R2=.02, p<.05).