Influence of Self-Determination and Social Support on Post-Traumatic Growth among Living Kidney Donors: A Cross-Sectional Study

<i>Background and Objectives</i>: Although many studies have reported that kidney donation is not physically harmful to living kidney donors, there are few studies on the psychological changes that they experience, especially post-traumatic growth. This study aimed to investigate the inf...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Younghui Hwang, Kyoungok Min, Jihyun Oh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-08-01
Series:Medicina
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/58/9/1155
Description
Summary:<i>Background and Objectives</i>: Although many studies have reported that kidney donation is not physically harmful to living kidney donors, there are few studies on the psychological changes that they experience, especially post-traumatic growth. This study aimed to investigate the influence of self-determination and social support on post-traumatic growth among living kidney donors. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: This study used a descriptive, cross-sectional design. Data were collected from 114 living kidney donors who visited the outpatient solid organ transplant center at Seoul National University Hospital. The data were analyzed using the t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and stepwise multiple regression. <i>Results</i>: The results showed that the mean for post-traumatic growth of living kidney donors was 4.24 (0.81), a level higher than the midpoint. The factors affecting total post-traumatic growth were the relatedness of self-determination, the social support of their significant other, and donor type. In particular, the relatedness of self-determination was a significant factor affecting changed perceptions of self, relating to others, and spiritual change, subscales of post-traumatic growth. Additionally, the social support of donors’ significant others was a significant factor affecting relating to others and new possibilities, subscales of post-traumatic growth. <i>Conclusions</i>: Healthcare providers should endeavor to help living kidney donors experience post-traumatic growth, which can be facilitated by improving their self-determination and social support.
ISSN:1010-660X
1648-9144