THE MEDIATING ROLE OF RESILIENCE IN THE RELATIONSHIP OF COPING STRATEGIES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF THALASSEMIC ADOLESCENT PATIENTS IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Background: Thalassemia is one of the main chronic hereditary diseases characterized by severe symptoms of anemia. Also, it has negative effects on patients’ mental health. However, few researches have studied the different psychiatric aspects of this disease and the psychological and social needs of thalassemic patients.
Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the mediating role of Resilience in the relationship of Coping Strategies and Psychological well-being of Thalassemic Adolescent Patients in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods: The statistical population of this study included adolescent patients age ranging from 13 to 18 years with thalassemia major. According to the method of sample size determination in behavioral studies, a minimum sample size of 134 patients is determined for this research through G* power, with effect size 4, probability of error .05 and power .95 (Faul et al, 2007). This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted on thalassemia centers for collection of data. This study is quantitative and correlational approach to examine the relationship between three variables. The data for this study will be collected by using Demographic Sheet, Jalowiec Coping Scale (JCS), Connor‐Davidson Resilience Scale (CD‐RISC) and Reef Psychological Well-Being Scale (RSPWB). Demographic information sheet comprises of information on gender, age, level of education, blood transfusion frequency on monthly basis, family income and any psychological disease history.
Results: The results indicated that resilience and coping strategies have positive effects on psychological well-being and its subscales including self-acceptance, positive relationship with others, autonomy, personal development and purposeful life of thalassemia major patients (p <0.05).
Conclusion: According to the results, regarding the effectiveness of resilience and coping strategies on the psychological well-being of thalassemic patients, the present study could introduce effective solution for development of psychological well-being and improvement of overall mental health of patients with thalassemia major.