کد مقاله کد نشریه سال انتشار مقاله انگلیسی نسخه تمام متن
949516 926758 2013 7 صفحه PDF دانلود رایگان
عنوان انگلیسی مقاله ISI
The effects of identification with a support group on the mental health of people with multiple sclerosis
موضوعات مرتبط
علوم زیستی و بیوفناوری علم عصب شناسی روانپزشکی بیولوژیکی
پیش نمایش صفحه اول مقاله
The effects of identification with a support group on the mental health of people with multiple sclerosis
چکیده انگلیسی

ObjectiveMultiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with various psychological problems, including depression and anxiety. Whilst MS support groups are intended to improve mental health, this goal is not always achieved. Taking a social identity approach, we hypothesise that it is the level of subjective identification with a support group (rather than simply support group membership per se) that positively affects the mental health of people with MS.Methods152 individuals with MS were recruited via UK MS support groups and completed a questionnaire. This included measures of support group identification, depression, anxiety and satisfaction with life, as well as control variables (education level and age).ResultsAnalyses revealed that, as hypothesised, support group identification was significantly linked to depression, anxiety and satisfaction with life. Moreover, group identification explained a significant amount of variance in addition to that explained by education and age on each health outcome. Repeating the analysis to compare each of the three main sub-types of MS revealed these effects to be present for individuals with Relapsing–Remitting (RR) and Primary Progressive (PP) MS, but not for those with Secondary Progressive (SP) MS.ConclusionsWe suggest that identifying highly with an MS support group has important positive outcomes for MS patients' mental health. This has implications for practicing clinicians: people with MS (particularly RRMS and PPMS) should be encouraged to engage with support groups, but more must be done to ensure they subjectively identify with these groups, rather than merely attend them.

ناشر
Database: Elsevier - ScienceDirect (ساینس دایرکت)
Journal: Journal of Psychosomatic Research - Volume 74, Issue 5, May 2013, Pages 420–426
نویسندگان
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