Social support and its association with depression, gender and socioeconomic indicators in individuals with spinal cord injury in Iran.

STUDY DESIGN

Descriptive cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the relationship between perceived social support and depression and to evaluate the role of family, friends and other caregivers in the perception of social support in Iranian individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI).

SETTING

Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

METHODS

Social support was evaluated using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support questionnaire, which gauges perceptions of support from family, friends and 'important persons'. The presence and severity of depression were assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II-PERSIAN)-a 21-item multiple-choice questionnaire.

RESULTS

A total of 140 individuals with SCI were enrolled in the study. The average age of the participants was 29.4±7.9 years; the mean duration of injury was 46.3±46.5 months and most patients were male (72%). Social support and all subscales of social support were numerically greater in males; however, this difference was not statistically significant. The subcategory of friends' support in men was 17.9±7.9 compared to 14.6±8.0 in women (P=0.04). The self-reported social support score (r=-0.387, P<0.001) and subscales of social support, including family (r=-0.174, P=0.045), friends (r=-0.356, P<0.001) and important persons (r=-0.373, P<0.001), were all negatively correlated with depression.

CONCLUSION

Higher self-reported perception of social support appears to be associated with lower levels of depression in individuals with SCI. SCI care providers should consider the relationship between social support and depression in their continuing care.