Resilience, self-esteem and self-compassion in adults with spina bifida

Abstract

MR Hayter and DS DorstynStudy design: Cross-sectional survey. Objectives: To examine factors that may enhance and promote resilience in adults with spina bifida. Setting: Community-based disability organisations within Australia. Methods: Ninety-seven adults with a diagnosis of spina bifida (SB) completed a survey comprising of demographic questions in addition to standardised self-report measures of physical functioning (Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique), resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, 10 item), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale), self-compassion (Selfcompassion Scale) and psychological distress (Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, 21 item). Results: The majority (66%) of respondents reported moderate to high resilience. Physical disability impacted on coping, with greater CD-RISC 10 scores reported by individuals who were functionally independent in addition to those who experienced less medical co-morbidities. Significant correlations between resilience and psychological traits (self-esteem r ¼ 0.36, Po0.01; self-compassion r ¼ 0.40, Po0.01) were also noted. However, the combined contribution of these variables only accounted for 23% of the total variance in resilience scores (R 2 ¼ 0.227, F(5,94) ¼ 5.23, Po0.01). Conclusion: These findings extend current understanding of the concept of resilience in adults with a congenital physical disability. The suggestion is that resilience involves a complex interplay between physical determinants of health and psychological characteristics, such as self-esteem and self-compassion. It follows that cognitive behavioural strategies with a focus on self-management may, in part, contribute to the process of resilience in this group. Further large-scale and longitudinal research will help to confirm these findings.

Resilience Predicts Functional Outcomes in People Aging With Disability: A Longitudinal Investigation

“…Research supports the reliability and validity of the CD-RISC-10 in a variety of samples, [30][31][32] including individuals with physical disabilities. 33 The internal consistency coefficient (Cronbach a) in our sample was .92 for t1 survey, indicating excellent reliability.…”

The Relationship Between Mental Health and Resilience: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…If protective factors outnumber risk factors (factors increasing the possibility of incompatible outcomes), it is predicted that the individual, in dealing with problems, displays more resilient behavior, copes with problems, and does not experience mental health disorders (22,65). Self-efficacy, social support, occupation, higher education, self-esteem, positive social orientation, asking for help, stress management, locus of control, coping, and older age are the most important protective factors that play a key role in the demonstration of compatible behavior and protection of mental health in difficult situations (66)(67)(68)(69)(70)(71)(72)(73)(74)(75).…”

Brief report: Self-compassion, physical health and the mediating role of health-promoting behaviours

“…As self-compassion has been linked to better emotional and behavioural adjustment in response to persistent pain (Wren et al, 2012), HIV (Brion et al, 2014) and spina bifida (Hayter and Dorstyn, 2014), selfcompassionate individuals may report feeling less distressed by common symptoms of illness, which may have inflated the negative association between self-compassion and symptoms observed byHall et al 's (2013)Further research is required therefore, to examine the relationship between self-compassion and physical health, while minimising the influence of psychological distress on the reporting of physical symptoms.…”