The Association of Social Support Satisfaction with the Perception of Pain and Psychiatric Functioning in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease
Creators: name: Payne, Asha Soyini
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2004

description: Introduction: Social support has been examined for its role in pain perception in several disease states. However, its impact on pain and psychiatric functioning has yet to be appreciated in the population with sickle cell disease (SCD). SCD is a common genetic order of the blood, affecting about 72,000 people in the United States. Pain is the most common presenting symptom. SCD pain can be treated at home, but SCD crises require hospitalization, which strains healthcare resources and finances. Also common in SCD is depression. Studies have examined the role of depression in SCD, but other aspects of psychiatric functioning have yet to be examined. Research is needed to understand the role of social support satisfaction in pain and psychiatric functioning in patients with SCD. Methods: We used data from the Longitudinal Exploration of Psychosocial Factors in SCD to examine the role of social support satisfaction on pain perception and severity as measured by the McGill Short form Questionnaire and Multidimensional Pain Inventory. Social support satisfaction was then examined according to level of pain in the last 30 days, number of days in pain over the last 30 days, length of pain crisis, current level of pain, and average pain in the last week and month. Finally, to test psychiatric functioning, the revised Symptom Checklist 90, the Marlowe Crowne Scale of social desirability, and the Tampa Scale for Kinesiology were used. Social support satisfaction was measured using the Alford-Edwards Social Support Indicator. MANOV A testing determined if there was a main effect of social support satisfaction on the various pain dimensions and psychiatric functioning measures outlined above. If there was an overall effect of social support satisfaction, Bonferroni adjusted t-tests determined which combination of social support satisfaction types and sources were statistically significant. Results: There is no association between social support satisfaction and pain. Pain quality, pain severity, and overall pain experience have no significant relationship with social support satisfaction. In addition, there was no relationship between social support satisfaction and the level pain over the last 30 days, number of days in pain, and the length of pain crises. However, there is an association between social support satisfaction and some aspects of psychiatric functioning. Lower levels of obsessive compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, psychosis, and paranoia were all associated with higher levels of social support satisfaction (p~0.03, p~0.05, p~0.01, p~0.04, respectively). Discussion: Social support satisfaction does not seem to be related to the pain experiences in patients with SCD. Pharmacologic interventions should remain as the intervention of choice in pain management for such patients. However, satisfaction from social support is significantly associated with the response to pain in this population. As a result, comprehensive SCD treatment plans should consider including social support to help patients cope with the effects of SCD.