Testing the Transition Preparation Training Program: Well-being of relationships outcomes.

PURPOSE

To determine the impact of the availability of everyday relationships and types of social support among adolescents with spina bifida on overall satisfaction/well-being of relationships and whether these adolescents differ in their ratings of relationships, social support and overall satisfaction, as measured by the My Family and Friends Scale: Teenage Version, social support scale after their participation in a health care transition intervention program, entitled the Transition Preparation Training Program.

METHODS

A mixed design ANOVA was conducted. There were 31 eligible adolescents randomly assigned to the treatment group and 34 were assigned to the control group for a total sample size of 65 adolescents (investigator-blinded randomization).

RESULTS

There were significant main effects for support type, relationship type, and for group. The mean overall satisfaction social support ratings for 31 adolescents in the treatment group slightly increased, pre (M = 38.63), post (M = 39.04), while the mean satisfaction social support ratings for those in the control group (34) did not change, pre (M = 39.95), post (M = 39.95).

CONCLUSIONS

Relationship type and social support are important factors in overall satisfaction/well-being of relationships among adolescents with spina bifida. Discussing social networks, when preparing these adolescents for transition, may help promote evaluation of the types of support needed.