Emotional control and affecting factors in hemodialysis patients

Objective: The purposes of this study were the find out the levels of emotional control and factors influencing the emotional control in hemodialysis patients.

Methods: The study consisted of 216 patients going under regular hemodialysis treatment. The study was carried on 183 patients who are eighteen years and above, able to com-municate, participating voluntarily and having no psychiatric disease and receiving hemodialysis treatment at least for six months regularly. In the collection of the data, question form including socio-demographic features of the patients and Courtauld Emotional Control scale was used. In the analysis of data, percentage, t test, ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used.

Results: The total emotional control levels, emotional control of anger, despair, and anxiety of patients were significantly correlated with gender, education levels and professions.

Discussion: Hemodialysis patients should be supported and in times encouraged to express their negative emotions in order to avoid unpleasant psychological consequences. (Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry 2008; 9:156-161)