Comparison of psychosocial factors and personality characteristics between stroke patients and healthy elderly

doi:10.3321/j.issn:1673-8225.2004.34.004

Abstract：BACKGROUND: Patients with stroke often suffer from depression and anxiety, arising from their specific personality. A thorough understanding of these psychosocial factors may facilitate the psychological counseling during rehabilitation of stroke, and help carry out individualised treatment to ensure successful implementation of the rehabilitation scheme.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of psychosocial factors and personality characteristics on the rehabilitation of patients with stroke, thereby providing basis for carrying ont psychological rehabilitative treatment.DESIGN: A case-control study.SETTING: This study was conducted in the Department of Clinical Psychology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University.PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-eight patients with stroke received rehabilitative treatment in our department between January 2000 and December 2001, including 37 male and 41 female patients aged(61.6 ±7.2) years. Fifty-two healthy elderly subjects were included as the control group, consisting of 33male and 19 female subjects aged(62.7 ± 5.4) years free of cerebrovascular diseases. None of the subjects in the two groups had history of psychotic disorders.METHODS: Symptom checklist(SCL-90), eysenck personality questionnaire(EPQ) and social support rating scale(SSRS) were used for investigation in the 78 stroke patients and the results compared with that in the 52age-matched elderly subjects.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Scores for SCL-90, EPQ and SSRS.RESULTS: The total score for SCL-90 and scores for depression, anxiety and importunity were significantly higher in stroke group than in control group( P ＜ 0.01 ), as with the score for neuroticism in EPQ(53.42 ± 9.42vs 47.42 ± 10. 46, t =4. 050, P ＜ 0. 01). The scores for subjective support and support utility in SSRS were 15.68 ±5.57 and 5.73 ±3.14 respectively in stroke group, obviously lower than those in the control group(19. 94 ± 6.61 and 8.75 ± 2.93; t = - 2. 267, - 2. 613, P ＜ 0. 05).CONCLUSION: Besides depression, anxiety, importunity and phobia, inadequate personality and poor recognition and utility of social support are important impediment for rehabilitation of patients with stroke.