PURPOSE: To determine the impact of the availability of everyday
relationships and types of social support among adolescents with spina
bifida on overall satisfaction/well-being of relationships and whether these
adolescents differ in their ratings of relationships, social support and
overall satisfaction, as measured by the My Family and Friends Scale: Teenage Version, social support scale after their
participation in a health care transition intervention program, entitled the
Transition Preparation Training Program.
METHODS: A mixed design ANOVA was conducted. There were 31 eligible
adolescents randomly assigned to the treatment group and 34 were assigned to
the control group for a total sample size of 65 adolescents
(investigator-blinded randomization).
RESULTS: There were significant main effects for support type,
relationship type, and for group. The mean overall satisfaction social
support ratings for 31 adolescents in the treatment group slightly
increased, pre (M= 38.63), post (M= 39.04), while the mean satisfaction social
support ratings for those in the control group (34) did not change, pre
(M= 39.95), post (M= 39.95).
CONCLUSIONS: Relationship type and social support are important
factors in overall satisfaction/well-being of relationships among
adolescents with spina bifida. Discussing social networks, when preparing
these adolescents for transition, may help promote evaluation of the types
of support needed.
