Objective:
The purpose of this study is to explore the bivariate and linear relationships between and among self-compassion, hope, and quality of life (QOL) among individuals with bleeding disorders. It is expected that these findings will guide the development of positive psychological interventions for this population.
Methods:
The final sample included 86 participants (61.6% male) with a mean age of 29.7 years (SD = 14.42). The majority of participants were diagnosed with hemophilia A (44.2%) or von Willebrand disease (44.2%). Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, and 3 self-report measures: the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS; Neff, 2003), the Adult Hope Scale (AHS; Snyder et al., 1991), and the PedsQL Inventory – Core Generic (Varni et al., 1999). The SCS is a 26-item scale with 6 subscales. Three subscales assess positive components (self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness) and three subscales assess negative components (self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification). The AHS is a 12 item instrument comprised of two scales: agency (the ability to identify goals for the future) and pathways (the ability to identify means to achieve those identified goals). The PedsQL assesses physical, mental, social, and school/work domains of QOL, in addition to total QOL, assessing all subscales.
Summary:
There was a significant and positive relationship between overall Quality of Life (QOL) and Overall Self-Compassion (r = .39, p < .001). There were significant and inverse bivariate relationships between Overall Quality of Life and each of the negative Self-Compassion components including Self-Judgement (r = -.44, p < .001), Isolation (r = -.35, p < .001), and Over-Identification (r = -.45, p < .001). A multiple regression analysis was conducted to explore the linear relationship of self-compassion and hope with QOL. Self-Compassion and hope were found to be significant concurrent predictors of QOL, F (2, 83) = 11.45, p < .001. Examination of the standardized beta weights revealed that hope (β = .31, t = 2.54, p < .05) was the only significant individual contributor to QOL.
Conclusions:
Hope and self-compassion were identified as variables that contribute to QOL among individuals with bleeding disorders. Hope, defined as the ability to identify and work toward identified goals, was the strongest predictor of QOL in the model. These findings provide implications for the use of hope-increasing interventions as a means to improve QOL. These findings provide further evidence for the use of strengths-based strategies to enhance well-being within the bleeding disorder population. Future studies could evaluate the effectiveness of specific interventions to improve hope and QOL among various subsets of the bleeding disorder community.