Problem: Urban Adolescents with asthma are at risk for poor psychosocial health due to disease-imposed strained interpersonal relationships. Social Competence theory suggests that interpersonal relationships that include provisions of support such as Perceived Emotional Support [PES] contribute to positive psychological well-being. Purpose: To describe the PES characteristics of urban adolescents with asthma. Methods: Baseline data from a randomized effectiveness trial was analyzed. Results: Adolescents diagnosed with asthma or reporting asthma symptoms in grades 9-11 attending an urban public high school completed the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Emotional Support. Of the 294 youth, 91% were African American, 47% reported Medicaid enrollment, mean age was 15.3 years, and 37.1% were males. Sources of PES included “Special Person”, “Family”, or “Friends”. A non parametric version of ANOVA for repeated measures, Friedman’s test was used to analyze the three subscales for differences. The three possible two-way comparisons were made using a Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test with a Hochberg’s criteria used to judge significance adjusting for multiple testing. On a scale of 1 (low) - 5 (high), teens reported receiving the most PES from a Special Person (mean=4.1), as opposed to Family (mean=3.9); p=0.001 or Friend (mean=4.0), p=0.001. This pattern was repeated for females only. Males differed from females on PES subscales for Special Person (mean=3.86) for males versus (4.27); p=0.003), and Friends (mean=3.75) for males vs. (4.13) for females; p=0.001). Additionally, unlike females, males reported the highest PES from Family (mean=3.93) as opposed to Friends or Special Person; p=0.045. Implications: Source of PES varies by gender. Overall males perceived less emotional support than females. Further analysis is needed to determine if these differences contribute to psychological well-being.
Session #1223 - Graduate Student Poster Session
The 29th Annual MNRS Research Conference (April 1-4, 2005)