Evaluation of social support and coping methods in maintenance hemodialysis patients in bahrain

Abstract EN

This study explores the relationships between social support and coping methods and their contribution to the prediction of quality of life in adult Bahraini clients on maintenance hem dialysis.

Data were collected from 60 adult Bahraini clients on hem dialysis, 28 (46.6%) males and 32 (53.4%) females.

The age range was 22 to 82 years with a mean of 53.02 ± 15.10.

Subjects were interviewed using : (a) a single-item social support measure, (b) Personal Resource Questionnaire 85 Part II, (c) Modified version of Jalowiec Coping Scale Part A, (d) Contrail’s Ladder, and (e) demographic data questionnaire.

Results showed that availability of social support resources was associated with use of supportant coping (r = 0.50, p < 0.001), and less frequent use of self-reliant coping methods (r =-0.34, p < 0.01).

There was a significant relationship between satisfaction with social support resources that are mainly used for supportant coping (r = 0.27, p < 0.05), and less frequent use of fatalistic coping methods (r=-0.29, p < 0.05).

Perceived social support was associated with higher ratings of present quality of life (r = 0.30, p < 0.05).

It was significantly correlated with the use of confrontive coping (r = 0.34, p < 0.01), the use of optimistic coping (r = 0.63, p < 0.001), and palliative coping (r = 0.51, p < 0.001).

In conclusion, of the social support variables, only perceived social support was found to be associated with the use of majority of coping methods, total coping resources, and quality of life.