SOCIAL SUPPORT AND CARDIAC INVALIDISM FOLLOWING ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION (INVALIDISM).
Contributors: University of California, Los Angeles.
Published: 1991
Number of pages: 329
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, General.
Description: Adjustment following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is difficult. Cardiac invalidism, defined as a complex of emotional distress, poor self-esteem, perceptions of poor health, and interpersonal dependency, is one type of poor psychological adjustment. Several authors have suggested that cardiac invalidism is accentuated and perhaps caused by the overprotectiveness or solicitousness of loved ones. Conversely, the Behavioral System Model (BSM) suggests that inadequate nurturing or social support results in dependency, a component of cardiac invalidism. The purpose of this study was to test a proposed theoretical model in which inappropriate (i.e. overprotective or inadequate) social support is a cause of cardiac invalidism. Data were collected from 111 subjects one and four months following their first AMI. Multivariate analysis with latent variables was used to test a theoretical model of cardiac invalidism.

The model demonstrating the influence of inappropriate social support on cardiac invalidism one month following AMI fit the data well (CFI =.997, p =.42), as did a model tested with change scores (CFI = 1.0, p =.92). At one month the adjustment process was active, but by four months many of the relationships were no longer evident, suggesting that the process differs at this point. Secondary hypothesis testing demonstrated the important influence of neurotic tendencies on adjustment.

Significant differences were found between overprotected and inadequately supported subjects in emotional distress at one month using multivariate analysis of variance. However, the model of cardiac invalidism fit the overprotected subjects as well as the total sample indicating that the overall process of adjustment may not differ between the groups.

As suggested by the BSM, a significant negative relationship was demonstrated between social support and interpersonal dependency at one month.

These results support the theory of cardiac invalidism in which inappropriate social support plays a role.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-04, Section: B, page: 1959.

Thesis (D.N.SC.)--UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES, 1991.

School code: 0031.