THE INFLUENCE OF PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS ON WOMEN'S ADJUSTMENT TO DIABETES.
Contributors: Georgia State University.
Published: 1995
Number of pages: 147
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Physiological.
Description: Successful adjustment to a chronic illness such as diabetes mellitus is influenced by a variety of psychosocial as well as physiological factors. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which social support, personal resources, coping styles, metabolic control, and psychosocial adjustment to illness differed among women with diabetes living in different kinds of household structure. A second purpose was to explore the influence of social support, personal resources, coping styles, and household structure on the psychosocial adjustment and metabolic control of women with diabetes. Roy's theory of adaptation provided the theoretical framework for the study.

The sample included 115 women whose mean age was 48 years and who had diabetes for an average of 10 years. The instruments consisted of a demographic data form, a measure of social support, a personal resource scale, the Jalowiec Coping Scale, the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale, and self-report items for assessing metabolic control and household structure. Multiple analysis of variance showed that women living in different types of household structures differed in both personal resources and coping skills and that women with different levels of metabolic control differed in both personal resources and psychosocial adjustment to illness. Higher levels of social support were significantly correlated with better personal resources, more effective coping skills and better psychosocial adjustment to illness. The use of evasive and emotive coping styles was associated with more problems in psychosocial adjustment to illness. Discriminant analysis indicated that social support, personal resources, household structure, coping skills, and psychosocial adjustment to illness were poor predictors of metabolic control. Multiple regression showed that 51% of the variance in psychosocial adjustment to illness was explained by personal resources, social support, and metabolic control.

Findings indicate that household structure, social support, personal resources, and coping skills are important factors in the adjustment of women to the demands of chronic illness. This knowledge will be useful for nurses in assessing patients and planning interventions. Further research is needed to test nursing interventions designed to enhance social support and coping skills.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-08, Section: B, page: 4247.

Thesis (PH.D.)--GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY, 1995.

School code: 0079.