ARTICLE INFO

Article Type

Descriptive & Survey Study

Authors

Mikaeili   N. (1)
Einy   S. (*)
Taghavy   R. (2)






(*) Psychology Department, Psychology & Educational Sciences Faculty, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
(1) Psychology Department, Psychology & Educational Sciences Faculty, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
(2) Psychology Department, Psychology Faculty, Ardabil Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ardabil, Iran

Correspondence

Address: Psychology & Educational Sciences Faculty, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Daneshgah ‎Street, Ardabil, Iran. Postal Code: 5614736691
Phone: +98 (45) 33262678
Fax: +98 (45) 33511508
sanaz.einy@yahoo.com

Article History

Received:  February  6, 2018
Accepted:  May 12, 2018
ePublished:  October 11, 2018

BRIEF TEXT


... [1]. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one of the most common, chronic, and disabling psychiatric disorders that can be caused by an exposure to a traumatic event. It is characterized by four kinds of symptoms, including disturbances, avoidance and unconsciousness, negative changes in cognition and mood, and prominent changes in arousal and reactivity [2].

... [3-8]. Research findings have shown that coping styles by people to cope with traumatic events and diseases play an important role in their social adjustment [9]. ... [10-16]. In addition, the results of the studies have shown that the external locus of control is associated with a high level of PTSD symptoms and low social adjustment in individuals [17]. The locus of control is associated with the extent that individuals feel they can control the events that affect them [18]. ... [19, 20]. Zhang et al. [18] have shown that the internal locus of control and coping style are one of the most effective factors to appear and maintain PTSD symptoms. Emotional intelligence is another variable that can be considered for social compatibility of the veterans with PTSD. Emotional intelligence is a capacity to perceive, express, understand, use, and manage the emotions of the individuals and others [21]. In other words, it is a set of capabilities, abilities, and skills that prepare a person to adapt to the environment and achieve success in life [22]. Research findings have shown that there is a significant relationship between optimism, emotional perception and emotional control with social adjustment [23], and social adjustment is associated with the accurate perception of mood changes in others, which is considered as the characteristics of emotional intelligence [24]. ... [25-27].

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of coping styles, locus of control, and emotional intelligence in predicting social adjustment of the veterans with PTSD.

The present study is descriptive correlational research.

This study was done on the veterans with PTSD hospitalized and treated in the Isar Psychiatric Hospital in Ardabil in 2017.

Using available sampling method, 120 veterans with PTSD were selected according to the minimum sample size (100 subjects) in a correlation research [28], and due to the small sample size. PTSD was diagnosed by a psychiatrist. The inclusion criteria included the lack of psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions, the lack of other diagnostic findings associated with PTSD such as mood disorders, the lack of drug-related disorders, at least a guidance school education, and the consent to participate the study. The lack of psychotic symptoms and other disorders were confirmed by a psychiatrist and the patient's consent to participate in the research was also obtained following explaining the research objectives. The exclusion criteria also included the lack of cooperation to answer all the questionnaires and incomplete responses to the questionnaires.

The Bell adjustment inventory (BAI) [29, 30], Rotter’s locus of control scale (RLOC) [31, 32], Lazarus and Folkman coping styles questionnaire (CSQ) [33, 34], Emotional intelligence of Shat et al. questionnaire [35, 36] were used as the research tools. The samples were first interviewed by the psychiatrist in the hospital and PTSD was diagnosed. The research objectives were explained to the participants and after obtaining consent from the patients, they were asked to respond to research questionnaires. Coping styles, locus of control, and emotional intelligence were considered as predictor variables and social adjustment of the veterans with PTSD was considered as the criterion variable. Data was analyzed by SPSS 21 using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to examine the natural distribution of the data, the Pearson correlation test to examine a significant correlation between variables and stepwise regression analysis to predict the social adjustment of the veterans with PTSD based on the coping styles, locus of control, and emotional intelligence.

The study sample consisted of 120 veterans with PTSD with a mean age of 58.00±7.76 years with the age range of 41 to 78 years old. Twenty-five subjects (20.8%) were single and 95 subjects (79.2%) were married. Thirty-three subjects (27.5%) had a below diploma education and 87 subjects (72.5%) had diploma and higher education. Moreover, 53 subjects (44.2%) were employed, 27 subjects (22.5%) had non-governmental occupations and 40 subjects (33.3%) were unemployed and retired. The social adjustment of the veterans with PTSD had a positive and significant correlation with internal locus of control, emotional evaluation and expression, emotional adjustment and management, emotional productivity, and problem-focused coping style and a negative and significant correlation with the external locus of control, and emotion-focused coping style (Table 1). 78% of the variance of social adjustment was explained by the locus of control (internal-external), coping styles (emotional-focused, problem-focused), and emotional intelligence (p=0.001; r=0877; r2=876; ar2= 776; F=4.146). The internal locus of control, problem-focused coping style, and emotional intelligence directly and significantly, and the external locus of control and emotion-focused coping style reversely and significantly predicted social adjustment of the veterans with PTSD. Emotional intelligence had the most predictive power (Table 2).

Studying the correlation between coping styles and social adjustment of the veterans with PTSD, the results of this study showed that coping styles played a significant role in predicting social adjustment of the veterans with PTSD, and problem-focused coping styles increased social adjustment of the veterans with PTSD, which is consistent with previous research findings [9, 13-16]. ... [37]. Concerning the correlation between the locus of control and social adjustment of the veterans with PTSD, the results of this study showed that the locus of control had a significant role in predicting the social adjustment of the veterans with PTSD, and those with low levels of the internal locus of control and high levels of the external locus of control had more social adjustment, which is consistent with previous studies [17-20]. The results showed that emotional intelligence had the highest predictive power in the social adjustment in the veterans with PTSD, and those with more emotional intelligence had more social adjustment, which is consistent with the results of previous studies [24-27]. ... [38].

A similar study on the veterans with PTSD in other cities and comparing the results with the findings of the present study is suggested. It is also suggested to use other data collection methods such as interview (individual, family) and monitoring to obtain more complete and accurate information.

Using self-report scales and inability to control some of the disturbing variables and severity of PTSD symptoms were some of the limitations of this study. The research was also done on the veterans with PTSD hospitalized in the Isar Psychiatric Hospital in Ardabil, accordingly generalizing the results to other cities may not be possible. Using a descriptive research can be considered as other limitations of this study, by which causal deduction may not be possible.

Problem-focused coping styles, internal locus of control, and high emotional intelligence predict high social adjustment in veterans with PTSD.

The authors are grateful to the veterans of the Isar Psychiatric Hospital in Ardabil and also to the Ardabil Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs supports.

None declared.

Prior the research, necessary agreements were made with the Ardabil Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, and essential approval was obtained from the Medical Ethics Committee of the Isar Psychiatric Hospital in Ardabil. The veterans’ consents were obtained and they were assured about the confidentiality of the information and using codes instead of the names.

This research is based on a research and no financial support from the institution or organization has been taken.

TABLES and CHARTS

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