title: Influence of social support on adaptation to surgery.
abstract: The authors investigated the influence of patients' social support on subjective and objective stress indicators before, during, and after surgery. The sample consisted of 42 male and 42 female patients. Social support as perceived by the patients was measured by a surgery-specific inventory with the Emotional Support and Informational Support subscales. Perioperative adaptation was assessed by self-reported anxiety, the amount of narcotics needed for anesthesia induction, and the length of the postoperative stay. Results demonstrated that patients who scored high on social support showed less anxiety, received lower doses of narcotics, and had a shorter hospital stay than did patients with low support. However, gender was a moderator of some of these associations. Compared with men, women exhibited more relationships that were in accordance with the hypotheses.
authors.affiliation: Psychologisches Institut, Johannes Gutenberg- Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany. krohne@psych.uni-mainz.de
authors.forename: Heinz Walter
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Krohne
authors.forename: Kerstin E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Slangen
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009294:Narcotics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011336:Probability; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012737:Sex Factors; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D009294:Narcotics