The Relationship Between Social Support and Psychosocial Adjustment in Individuals Living With a Colostomy: A Descriptive, Cross-Sectional Study.

The purpose of this study was to determine levels of social support received by individuals with a colostomy and evaluate the relationship between social support and ostomy adjustment. Descriptive, cross-sectional. The sample comprised 52 participants who underwent colostomy surgery for colorectal cancer treatment. Their mean age was 52.34 years (SD = 9.61) more than half were women (n = 28, 53.4%). The study setting was the stomatherapy units of 2 hospitals in Istanbul, Turkey. Data were collected between January 01 and April 05, 2019. A questionnaire that included a participant information form, and 2 validated instruments: the Cancer-Specific Social Support Scale (CSSS), and the Ostomy Adjustment Inventory (OAI-23). Outcomes were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman correlation test. The mean CSSS score was 127.92 (SD = 10.62); subscale scores were 59.48 (SD = 8.44) for confidence support, 41.23 (SD = 2.93) for emotional support, and 27.21 (SD = 7.23) for information support; these scores indicate high levels of social support. The mean total score for the OAI-23 was 45.48 (SD = 18.97), indicating moderate levels of psychosocial adjustment to an ostomy. Analysis revealed no significant relationship between the CSSS and psychosocial adjustment scores (P = .720). A significant negative correlation was found between the perceived information support scores and accepting and anxiety subscale scores. No relationship was found between perceived social support and psychosocial adjustment. A significant negative correlation was found between the perceived information support scores and anxiety subscale scores.