Last update:
06-Jul-2023

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between nostalgia, time perspective, sense of coherence, social support, and mental health in a sample of patients with multiple sclerosis.

METHOD A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 140 patients with multiple sclerosis, who completed a series of online questionnaires, including the mental health scale of Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Southampton Nostalgia Scale, the short version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, the Sense of Coherence 13-item Scale, the Short Form Social Support Questionnaire, and a questionnaire covering demographic and medical information.

RESULTS Significant correlations were observed between mental health and sense of coherence, social support, nostalgia, future, present hedonistic, present fatalistic, and past negative time perspective. On multiple linear regression analysis, age was shown to be positively related to depressive symptomatology, while present hedonistic, past positive, and sense of coherence were shown to be negatively related to depressive symptomatology. Regarding mediation analysis, it was confirmed that present fatalistic and satisfaction with social support simultaneously mediated the relationship between sense of coherence and depressive symptomatology. It was also found that nostalgia was indirectly related to mental health through the sense of coherence, but not through positive past, when these two factors coexisted in the same analysis.

CONCLUSIONS A range of psychosocial interventions aimed at enhancing balanced time perspective, sense of coherence, and effective management of the emotion of nostalgia could help patients with multiple sclerosis improve their mental health.

Key words: Depression, Mental health, Multiple sclerosis, Nostalgia, Sense of coherence, Social support, Time perspective.