Prediction of Caregiver Burden Based on Sense of Coherence and Psychological Capital in the Spouses of Amputee Veterans

One of the damaging factors of the family structure is the disability of one of its members, which can be due to events such as war. Due to the need to pay attention to the members of the veterans' family, especially their spouses, the aim of this study was to predict the caregiver burden based on sense of coherence and psychological capital in the spouses of amputee veterans. Instruments and Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted in 2016 among spouses of amputee veterans in Piranshahr. Using available sampling method, 120 people were selected as sample. For data collection, Pai and Kapur’s Family Burden Interview Scale, Antonovsky's Sense of Coherence Scale, and Luthans’s Psychological Capital Questionnaire were used. The data were analyzed, using SPSS 18 software, Pearson correlation, and stepwise regression test. Finding: There was a negative and significant correlation between caregiver burden and sense of coherence (r=-0.28; p<0.01) and psychological capital (r=0.41; p<0.01). The sense of coherence was significantly able to predict about 7% of the variance of caregiver burden in veterans’ spouses (p<0.005). Also, self-efficacy in the first step and resilience in the second step significantly predicted 14% and 17% of the variance of the caregiver burden of the spouses of veterans, respectively (p<0.001). The sense of coherence and psychological capital reduce caregiver burden in the spouses of amputee veterans.