Are social relationships an underestimated resource for mental health in persons experiencing physical disability? observational evidence from 22 countries

Fekete, Christine and Tough, Hannah and Arora, Mohit and Hasnan, Nazirah and Joseph, Conran and Popa, Daiana and Strom, Vegard and Middleton, James (2021) Are social relationships an underestimated resource for mental health in persons experiencing physical disability? observational evidence from 22 countries. International Journal of Public Health, 66. ISSN 1661-8556, DOI https://doi.org/10.3389/ijph.2021.619823.

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Abstract

Objectives: As advancing evidence on modifiable resources to support mental health in persons experiencing physical disabilities is of particular importance, we investigate whether structural and functional social relationships relate to mental health in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods: Data from 12,330 participants of the International SCI community survey (InSCI) from 22 countries were analyzed. Structural (partnership status, living situation) and functional aspects of social relationships (belongingness, relationship satisfaction, problems with social interactions) were regressed on the SF-36 mental health index (MHI-5), stratified by countries and for the total sample using multilevel models. Results: Functional aspects of social relationships were consistently related to clinically relevant higher MHI-5 scores and lower risk of mental health disorders (MHI-5 >56). Structural social relationships were inconsistently associated with mental health in our sample. Conclusion: This study provides evidence that functional aspects of social relationships are important resources for mental health. Interventions to establish and maintain high quality relationships should be considered in public health interventions and rehabilitation programs to reduce long-term mental health problems in persons experiencing physical disabilities.

Item Type: Article
Funders: UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords: Mental health; Social relationships; MHI-5; Physical disabilities; Spinal cord injury; Insci community survey
Subjects: R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
R Medicine > RC Internal medicine
Divisions: Faculty of Medicine > Rehabilitation Medicine Department
Depositing User: Ms Zaharah Ramly
Date Deposited: 08 Jul 2022 05:42
Last Modified: 08 Jul 2022 05:42
URI: http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/33931

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