Surgery operations of children causes serious anxiety for parents.

The study was designed to determine the factors increasing the severity of anxiety existing in the parents whose children will have an operation and what can be done to decrease it.

200 parents were asked to complete the social demographic data form, Beck Anxiety Inventory(BAI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory(STAI) before the surgery.

Mothers had higher scores of BAI and Trait Anxiety. The BAI score of two year-old and older children's parents had greater value than the one year-old children's parents(p=0.020). The State Anxiety score of girls' family was found greater (p=0.049).

The State Anxiety score of the parents who are unlettered/graduated from primary school was greater than those who graduated from high school/college(p=0.026). The BAI scores of the parents with low occupational level/unemployed and housewives both were greater than those of the parents with average/high occupational levels(p=0.029). The BAI score of parents with large families was lower than the parents with nuclear/fragmented families(p=0.043). The BAI score of parents whose families hadn't have surgery before had greater values. The Trait Anxiety score of parents whose children had a, b,c types of surgery operations was smaller than d, e types(p=0.036).

It was found that the mothers and parents who have daughters, with low educational levels and low socioeconomic status have continuous anxiety. Therefore, parents need to be informed more about children's diseases, the type of the surgery operation and the technique of anesthesia in pre/postoperative term.