Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Resilience and Psychological Wellbeing are two important concepts in adaption of patients to chronic disease conditions. GOAL: To compare resilience and psychological wellbeing in women with irritable bowel syndrome and normal women. METHODS: This was an analytical-comparative study. The statistical population consisted of all patients with irritable bowel syndrome visiting Imam Ali Hospital in Zahedan. Of all patients, 50 female patients with irritable bowel syndrome and 50 normal women were randomly selected and matched. The research tools were resilience and psychological wellbeing scales. Collected data was assessed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). RESULTS: The results showed a difference between resilience and the components of positive relations with others, environmental mastery, purpose in life and acceptance in women with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and normal women (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: more effective training programs can be designed and more efficient measures can be taken given the definite role of psychological factors (especially, resilience and psychological wellbeing) in incidence or exacerbation of physical disease symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.