Affiliations: [a] Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA | [b] Grupo de Investigación Carlos Finlay, Surcolombiana University, Neiva, Colombia | [c] University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain | [d] IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla, Ph.D., IKERBASQUE Research Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Deusto, IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain.
Tel.: +34 804 8594329; E-mail: jcarango@deusto.es
Abstract: Background/objective:The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of appraisal, belonging, and tangible social support on the mental health (depression, satisfaction with life, anxiety, and burden) of Colombian spinal cord injury (SCI) caregivers. Methods:Forty SCI caregivers from Neiva, Colombia completed questionnaires assessing their perceived social support and mental health. Results:Four multiple regressions found that the three social support variables explained 42.8% of the variance in caregiver depression, 22.3% of the variance in satisfaction with life, 24.1% of the variance in anxiety, and 16.5% of the variance in burden, although the effect on burden was marginally significant. Within these regressions, higher belonging social support was uniquely associated with lower depression, and higher tangible social support was uniquely associated with higher caregiver satisfaction with life. Conclusions:Social support may have a particularly important influence on SCI caregiver mental health in Colombia, due in part to the high levels of collectivism and strong family values shown to exist in Latin America, and may therefore be an important target for SCI caregiver interventions in this region.
Keywords: SCI caregivers, social support, mental health
