Key demographics and psychological skills associated with adjustment to progressive Multiple Sclerosis early in the diagnosis.
Angeliki Bogosian, Fern Day, Sam Norton and 4 others
PMID 36275922WHAT IT FOUND
People with secondary progressive MS reported worse adjustment than those with primary progressive MS.
Self-efficacy, avoidance coping, and psychological vulnerability were the strongest factors linked to how well patients adapted. These findings suggest targeting these specific areas in early rehabilitation support.
Key findings
01Participants with secondary progressive MS reported higher levels of perceived stress, greater negative affect, a less positive self-concept, and less satisfaction with life compared to those with primary progressive MS.
02Self-efficacy was the single strongest factor associated with psychological adjustment, explaining 29% of the variance in the data.
03Avoidance coping and psychological vulnerability were identified as key barriers to adjustment, while self-efficacy was a key facilitator.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot prove that low self-efficacy causes poor adjustment or vice versa. All disease factors, including MS subtype and disability severity, were self-reported rather than clinician-rated, which may introduce inaccuracy. The sample was recruited from clinics and online, which may not represent all people with progressive MS. Some potentially important psychological variables, such as resilience, were not measured to keep the questionnaire burden manageable.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the strong association between self-efficacy and adjustment as proof that improving self-efficacy will automatically improve adjustment. The study is cross-sectional and cannot determine causality, so interventions targeting self-efficacy should be viewed as promising but unproven in this specific population.