Abstract
Aim: To explore the relationships between predictors of social anxiety, symptom severity, support and control in predicting fear of negative evaluation and health related quality of life in participants who have been diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease.
Method: Questionnaires were administered to participants who were diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. There were 116 responses in total.
Findings: As age and control increase fear of negative evaluation decreases in Crohn’s patients. Also it was found that as support increases quality of life increases and as symptom severity increases health related quality of life decreases as predicted. Symptom severity was tested as a mediator of support and quality of life but this was not supported.
Conclusion: Age may influence feelings of negative evaluation as social inclusion may be of importance at particular stages of a person’s life cycle. Quality of life and symptom severity has been previously researched and correlated , however this study found that there was a relationship at mild and severe levels of disease but no relationship at moderate level . Control and support were both associated with coping outcomes in chronic disease. Further research would be recommended to assess the type of coping style and early intervention of support. Also fear of negative evaluation studies in an adolescent sample of Crohn’s patients would be beneficial.
