A Study on Emotional-Affective Aspects and the Perception of General Health in Kidney Transplant Subjects

Abstract

Background: Transplantation has profound psychological implications. Psychodiagnostic assessments with structured instruments (scales, questionnaires) may be insufficient for bringing out the deeper aspects of the personality.

Patients and methods: Thirty kidney transplant recipients underwent the Thematic Apperception Test to detect significant variables hypothetically related to characteristics of the study sample and the SF-36 to assess quality of life.

Results: The variable of Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) "communication difficulties" was significantly correlated with the dimensions of the SF-36 "emotional role functioning," "social activities," and "mental health." The dimension of SF-36 "general health" did not interfere with the variable of TAT "constricted effect."

Conclusions: This study is considered to be particularly useful in detecting the emergence of "removed difficulties" that transplanted subjects are not inclined to recognize. The analysis of these aspects is necessary to plan individualized psychotherapy pathways.