PSYCHOSOCIAL ADAPTATION FACTORS RELATED TO HEPATITIS AND NON-HEPATITIS HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS.
Contributors: Catholic University of America.
Published: 1986
Number of pages: 108
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Social.
Description: This descriptive comparative study sought to identify, describe, and compare selected aspects of psychosocial adaptation: self-concept, self-esteem, social isolation, and social functioning between patients with end stage renal disease on maintenance hemodialysis who are chronic active hepatitis carriers and those who are not.

Hypotheses related to these variables were developed stating that the hepatitis group would have lower self-esteem scores, lower self-concept scores, lower social isolation scores and lower social functioning scores.

Five instruments were used for data collection: The Demographic Data Form, the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, Rosenberg's Global Self-Esteem Scale, the Dean Alienation Scale, and the Inventory of Social Functioning.

The study utilized consenting subjects from eight privately owned outpatient hemodialysis centers located in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Hemodialysis records were reviewed to determine subjects who could be categorized into Group A non-hepatitis subjects and Group B hepatitis subjects. There were 49 subjects assigned to Group A and 37 subjects assigned to Group B.

In the analysis of the sociodemographic data, there were no significant differences noted between the non-hepatitis and hepatitis groups.

In order to test the differences between the two groups, multivariate analysis was employed. Each measure of psychosocial adaptation: self-concept, self-esteem, social isolation, and social functioning was analyzed. The multivariate analysis revealed significantly scores for self-concept, self-esteem, and social functioning. The variable social isolation was not significant. Four univariate measures were employed in order to test the difference between the non-hepatitis and hepatitis subjects. Results of this study indicated that hepatitis hemodialysis patients experienced lower self-esteem scores and lower social functioning scores. There were no significant differences between the two groups for the variable of social isolation. On the otherhand, findings demonstrated that patients with hepatitis had better self-concept scores when compared to the patients without hepatitis. Therefore, only two of the four hypotheses were supported.

Based on the results of this study, further research on these study variables is indicated and correlation of sociodemographic data with the variables is warranted.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-04, Section: B, page: 1489.

Thesis (D.N.SC.)--THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA, 1986.

School code: 0043.