The Relationship between Daily Spiritual Experiences and Perceived Stress with Self-efficacy of Wives of Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Due to war) in Golestan Province

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one of the most damaging psychological effects of the Iraq war against Iran, and one of the most common psychological disorders among Wives of Veterans. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between daily spiritual experiences and perceived stress with the self-efficacy of the wives of veterans PTSD.

In this descriptive-correlational study, the population consisted of 326 wives of veterans with PTSD in Golestan Province who were selected by available sampling. Participants completed Questionnaires of daily spiritual experiences, perceived stress, and general self-efficacy. Data analysis was conducted by SPSS version 24 using Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and analytical tests (one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation).

The results of analytical tests showed that there was a direct and significant correlation between daily spiritual experiences and self-efficacy (P<0.001, r=0.251). Also, there was a significant inverse correlation between self-efficacy and perceived stress (P<0.001, r= - 0.40).

The results showed that increasing spiritual experiences, result in increasing self-efficacy. Also, self-efficacy were inversely related to stress; increasing self-efficacy, less stress was experienced. Therefore, it is suggested that spiritual experiences be increased among wives of Veterans whit PTSD.