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Effects of stress, social support, and self-esteem on depression in children with limb deficiencies
J W Varni1, Y Setoguchi, L R Rappaport
1Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Los Angeles.
Insights
Children with limb deficiencies experience challenges, but social support, particularly from classmates, significantly reduces depressive symptoms. Self-esteem and daily hassles also play roles in psychological adjustment.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Background:
- Limb deficiencies in children stem from congenital, traumatic, or disease-related causes.
- Chronic adaptation to limb deficiencies can negatively impact psychological adjustment.
- Social support, daily hassles, and self-esteem are identified as key mediating factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate risk and protective factors predicting depressive symptomatology in children with limb deficiencies.
- To examine the roles of perceived social support, microstressors, and self-esteem.
- To understand the interplay of these factors in psychological adaptation.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 54 children with limb deficiencies participated.
- Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were employed to assess predictor variables.
- Simultaneous regression analysis evaluated main and interaction effects on depressive symptoms.
Main Results:
- No statistically significant interaction effects were found between predictor variables.
- The main effects model explained 72% of the variance in depressive symptomatology.
- Perceived social support from classmates was the most potent predictor of reduced depressive symptoms.
Conclusions:
- Perceived social support, especially from peers, is a critical protective factor for children with limb deficiencies.
- Microstressors and self-esteem also influence psychological well-being.
- Findings inform interventions for improving the psychosocial adaptation of children with chronic conditions.
Abstract:
Limb deficiencies in children are the result of trauma, disease, or congenital causes. The potentially negative impact on psychologic adjustment from the chronic strain of living with limb deficiencies appears to be mediated by perceived social support (interpersonal protective factor), microstressors and daily hassles (socioenvironmental risk factor), and self-esteem (intrapersonal protective factor). These risk and protective factors were simultaneously investigated as potential predictors of depressive symptomatology in 54 children with congenital or acquired limb deficiencies. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to test the main effects and the interaction effects of the predictor variables on depressive symptomatology. None of the interaction terms were statistically significant. An overall simultaneous multiple regression analysis of the main effects model predicted 72% of the variance in depressive symptomatology, with perceived classmate social support emerging as the strongest predictor variable. The findings are discussed in terms of the risk and protective effects of mediating factors on the psychologic and social adaptation of chronically ill and handicapped children.