Profiles of resilience in multiple sclerosis family care-partners: A Canadian cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Psychological resilience may play an important role in protecting multiple sclerosis care-partners from the negative effects of their support role. However, predictors of resilience in this population have yet to be identified. OBJECTIVES: To identify characteristics predictive of psychological resilience in multiple sclerosis care-partners as informed by the Ecological Model of Resilience. METHODS: Informal multiple sclerosis care-partners (n = 540) completed an online survey. Psychological resilience was measured using the 25-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Sociodemographic and care-context predictors of resilience were analyzed using hierarchical regression. RESULTS: The mean resilience score was 59.0 (SD = 7.6) out of a possible 100. Sociodemographic variables accounted for 31% of the variance in resilience scores in multiple sclerosis care-partners. When care-context variables were incorporated into the model, 55% of variance was explained (F[7,320] = 26.824, p < 0.001). Each group of variables remained significant in both low disability and high disability models. Social support was the only individual variable that remained significant across all models (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Multiple sclerosis care-partners differ strikingly from other caregiving populations. Both sociodemographic and care-context variables were found to promote or hinder resilience in multiple sclerosis care-partners. Social support, in particular, may be an important target for promoting resilience in multiple sclerosis care-partners and could be leveraged in future initiatives.