Assessing Acceptance in Turkish Fathers of Children with Intellectual Disabilities: A Two-Phase Protocol

Fathers of children with intellectual disabilities remain underrepresented in disability and family research and in parent-support interventions. This article presents a two-phase protocol for developing the Fathers' Acceptance of Children with Special Needs Scale (FACSNS) and evaluating a manualized psychoeducational program for fathers in Türkiye. Phase 1 involved the development and psychometric validation of the FACSNS using data from 220 fathers of children with moderate or severe intellectual disabilities. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a three-factor structure comprising behavioral, internal, and emotional acceptance. The scale accounted for 71.25% of the total variance and demonstrated high internal consistency (α = 0.917). Phase 2 evaluated the effects of a six-week cognitive-behavioral psychoeducational program on fathers' acceptance of their children with intellectual disabilities. A quasi-experimental pretest, post-test, and follow-up design was used with an experimental group (n = 20) and a control group (n = 20). Repeated-measures analyses showed greater increases in FACSNS scores in the experimental group than in the control group across the three acceptance dimensions, and post-test scores were broadly maintained at follow-up. Because group allocation was not randomized, the findings indicate an association between program participation and improved paternal acceptance, not definitive causal evidence. The protocol may support replication, adaptation, and further validation of father-inclusive family-support programs.