Gm. Devins et al., ILLNESS INTRUSIVENESS AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS OVER THE ADULT YEARS - IS THERE A DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT ACROSS CHRONIC CONDITIONS, Canadian journal of behavioural science, 25(3), 1993, pp. 400-413
Illness intrusiveness - illness-induced disruptions to lifestyles, act
ivities, and interests - has been proposed as an underlying determinan
t of the psychosocial impact of chronic illness. Age has been observed
to moderate the effect of illness intrusiveness on depressive symptom
s in rheumatoid arthritis. The present investigation attempted to repl
icate this finding in two other conditions - multiple sclerosis (MS) a
nd end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Previously collected data concernin
g age, illness intrusiveness, depressive symptoms, and the duration an
d severity of illness were available from 94 people with MS and 101 wi
th ESRD. Analyses of partial variance, controlling for duration and se
verity of illness, indicated that illness intrusiveness, but not age,
was significantly and uniquely correlated with depressive symptoms in
both groups. However, the hypothesized interaction was nonsignificant
in both samples. These results are interpreted in light of recent rese
arch concerning the perceived seriousness of illness which may act as
a moderator variable to produce these seemingly inconsistent results.