Psychological Reports, 1992, 71, 977-978.
O Psychological Reports 1992
POSITIVE A N D NEGATIVE SOCIAL SUPPORT I N A CHRONIC ILLNESS ' COLETTE RAY Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex Summary.-A measure of social support was developed and administered to 207 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Positive social support was related to anxiety, and negative social support was related to both anxiety and depression.
Studies of social support and emotional adjustment typically focus on positive aspects of relationships; however, others' negative attitudes and behaviour may also be important Abbey and colleagues (1) assessed social support and social conflict in undergraduates and found that both dimensions correlated with measures of well-being. Revenson and colleagues (2) asked patients with rheumatoid arthritis to rate the extent to which individual members of their close social network had engaged in 20 supportive and nonsupportive behaviours during a recent pain episode. Positive and negative social support independently affected depression. We have similarly developed a measure of social support appropriate for chronic dness, comprising both positive and negative aspects: this, however, is not episode-specific, and responses were elicited for significant others in general rather than specific others. Items from existing questionnaires were adapted, and new items constructed, based upon interview data from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (3). This questionnaire was completed by a further group of 207 similar patients, each item being rated with regard to "the people in your life who are important to you" on a scale from 1 (never) to 6 (always). These patients also completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (4) and a measure of functional impairment comprising self-ratings of disability in the areas of work, home management, and social and private leisure activities. The median duration of patients' illness was 48 months, the mean age of the sample was 39 years, and 72% were female. The mean scores for anxiety and depression were 9.61 (SD4.59) and 7.87 (SD 3.78), respectively. Principal components analysis of the social support items, using SPSSX, indicated two factors accounted for 58% of the variance. The first factor related to others' positive attitudes and behaviours and comprised both practical and psychological support. The second factor comprised negative items concerning expressed irritation, frustration and criticism, conflicts and mis'Please send requests For reprints and copies of the questionnaire to Dr. Colette Ray, Department of Human Sciences, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 3PH, United Kingdom.
978
C. RAY
understanding, and pressure from others. The final questionnaire, excluding items with loadings less than .4, included 14 positive items (0= .96) and nine negative items (a= .89). Mean scores were computed for positive and negative support. Neither scale was related to functional impairment; positive support had a significant negative relationship with anxiety (r = -.25, p < 0.001), while negative support was related to both anxiety ( r = .31, p
O Psychological Reports 1992
POSITIVE A N D NEGATIVE SOCIAL SUPPORT I N A CHRONIC ILLNESS ' COLETTE RAY Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex Summary.-A measure of social support was developed and administered to 207 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Positive social support was related to anxiety, and negative social support was related to both anxiety and depression.
Studies of social support and emotional adjustment typically focus on positive aspects of relationships; however, others' negative attitudes and behaviour may also be important Abbey and colleagues (1) assessed social support and social conflict in undergraduates and found that both dimensions correlated with measures of well-being. Revenson and colleagues (2) asked patients with rheumatoid arthritis to rate the extent to which individual members of their close social network had engaged in 20 supportive and nonsupportive behaviours during a recent pain episode. Positive and negative social support independently affected depression. We have similarly developed a measure of social support appropriate for chronic dness, comprising both positive and negative aspects: this, however, is not episode-specific, and responses were elicited for significant others in general rather than specific others. Items from existing questionnaires were adapted, and new items constructed, based upon interview data from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (3). This questionnaire was completed by a further group of 207 similar patients, each item being rated with regard to "the people in your life who are important to you" on a scale from 1 (never) to 6 (always). These patients also completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (4) and a measure of functional impairment comprising self-ratings of disability in the areas of work, home management, and social and private leisure activities. The median duration of patients' illness was 48 months, the mean age of the sample was 39 years, and 72% were female. The mean scores for anxiety and depression were 9.61 (SD4.59) and 7.87 (SD 3.78), respectively. Principal components analysis of the social support items, using SPSSX, indicated two factors accounted for 58% of the variance. The first factor related to others' positive attitudes and behaviours and comprised both practical and psychological support. The second factor comprised negative items concerning expressed irritation, frustration and criticism, conflicts and mis'Please send requests For reprints and copies of the questionnaire to Dr. Colette Ray, Department of Human Sciences, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 3PH, United Kingdom.
978
C. RAY
understanding, and pressure from others. The final questionnaire, excluding items with loadings less than .4, included 14 positive items (0= .96) and nine negative items (a= .89). Mean scores were computed for positive and negative support. Neither scale was related to functional impairment; positive support had a significant negative relationship with anxiety (r = -.25, p < 0.001), while negative support was related to both anxiety ( r = .31, p
