Denial in dialysis patients: relationship to compliance and other variables

Denial has been documented as an important defense mechanism to helping the chronically ill cope with their disease. With respect to a dialysis population, however, the role of denial has been ambiguous. The purpose of this study were 1) to examine the physiological and psychological correlates of denial in a dialysis population and 2)( to examine the relationship between use of denial and compliance to fluid restrictions. Subjects were 46 self- and limited-care dialysis patients. From this subject pool two groups were derived, based upon weight gains between treatments: complies (N=15) and noncompliers(N=16). Both physiological and psychological data were correlated with denial as measured by the Marlow-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Results indicated that denial is used a great deal in dialysis patients, but there was no difference in denial scores between compliers and noncompliers. For compliers, however, denial was correlated with more adaptive attitudes toward illness. The results have implication for the clinical management of dialysis patients.