The Comparison of Perceived Social Support and Psychological Hardiness in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis and Normal People

Multiples clerosis is a common autoimmune disease. The prevalence of multiple sclerosis in the general population of the world is aone percent. This study aimed to compare the perceived social support and psychological hardiness in patients with multiple sclerosis and normal people.
This comparative study was executed on 35patients with multiple sclerosis and 35 normal subjects who responded to the perceived social support and psychological hardiness questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of variance.
Data analysis showed significant differences in the scores of patients with multiple sclerosis and normal people on the scale of perceived social support and psychological hardiness. Such that patients with multiple sclerosis had lower scores in social support and psychological hardiness.
Family and community play a vital role in the disease process. By learning and improving the psychological hardiness to improve their mental health, patients could help themselves to overcome the hardships of this disease and in this regard the family and societie’s support are needed as well.