The social support experiences of women with endometriosis

Approximately one in seven women have endometriosis, a disease that may cause pain and/or infertility. Therefore, many women experience the stress of this disease in their life and yet little is known about how they cope with this stress. This study focuses on the coping resource of social support. The social support experiences of forty-six women, who participate in an endometriosis support group on the Internet, were examined. A questionnaire was designed to explore the social support experiences of these women in four relationship categories: spouse/partner, friends/extended family, others with endometriosis, and health care providers. In written responses, these women shared many poignant and compelling stories about their struggles with the disease and their experiences with social support relative to the disease. The participants’ responses were analyzed for themes. Overall themes that emerged from the analysis include: the participants wanted to be listened to and believed, they wanted their support network to be knowledgeable about endometriosis, they wanted others to understand the symptoms of the disease, and they wanted their support system to share information about the disease.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Family and Child Development

Department dc:contributor.department

Family and Child Development

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

1995

Author dc:creator

• Whitney, Martha L.

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

etd-12172008-063429

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/46295