The Effect of Occupational Therapy on Self-Steem of Housewives with Mood Disorders After Discharge from the Hospital: a Clinical Trial Study

Abstract

Introduction: Although self-esteem has an important role on predicting the symptoms of depression and mania in patients with mood disorders, this subject has been less paid attention to in numerous studies. This study aimed to determine the effect of occupational therapy on self-esteem activities in housewives with mood disorders after discharge from the hospital. Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 75 housewives with mood disorders discharged from Ibn-Sina psychiatric hospital in Mashhad during 94-95, were studied in two intervention group (n = 35) and control group (n = 35). Occupational therapy intervention group (according to the model of psychosocial occupational therapy Cara), received 20 sessions each120 minutes, twice a week and the control group received routine care. The research tool was Cooper Smith self-esteem questionnaire which was completed both before the intervention and 2.5 months after the intervention in both groups simultaneously. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 11.5, Fisher's exact test, and paired t-test. Results: In the pre-intervention, there was no significant difference between the mean scores of self-esteem of intervention group (97/2 ± 11/4) and control group (95/9 ± 10/4) (P= 0/17). But considering the change in the mean scores of self-esteem before and after the intervention, there was a significant difference between the intervention group (13/8 ± 11/2) and control group (3/3 ± 9/6) (P< 0/001). Conclusion: Implementation of occupational activities can improve self-esteem in patients with mood disorders. Hence, it is suggested that occupational activities be paid more attention to even after the discharge from hospitals.

Keywords

• occupational therapy
• self-esteem
• mood disorders