Mediating Role of Resourcefulness in the Relationship Between Illness Uncertainty and Poststroke Depression

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between illness uncertainty, resourcefulness, and poststroke depression (PSD) and identifies whether stroke patients’ resourcefulness plays a mediating role in the relationship between illness uncertainty and PSD. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2020 to April 2021. A convenience sample of 355 stroke patients was recruited. A general characteristic questionnaire, the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale, the Resourcefulness Scale (RS), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were used to obtain data. Descriptive analysis, Student’s t-test, Mann–Whitney U-test, chi-squared test, hierarchical regression analyses, Pearson correlation analysis, and mediation analysis with the PROCESS macro were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Illness uncertainty, resourcefulness, and PSD were significantly related to each other. Resourcefulness partially mediated the relationship between illness uncertainty and PSD. CONCLUSION: Illness uncertainty and resourcefulness were significantly associated with PSD, and resourcefulness played a mediating role between illness uncertainty and PSD. Interventions designed to reduce illness uncertainty and enhance resourcefulness may contribute to the prevention and improvement of PSD.