Patterns of psychological resilience and social avoidance among the patients of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disease: a latent profile analysis.

BACKGROUND

Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disease (NMOSD) is a highly disabling autoimmune disease. Many patients engage in social withdrawal due to disease-related concerns and physical limitations, leading to widespread social avoidance behaviors that further exacerbate psychological distress. Psychological resilience, as a critical individual capacity for coping with adversity, may play a significant role in regulating this process. This study aims to identify the coexistence patterns of psychological resilience and social avoidance in NMOSD patients and explore the specific predictors of these subgroups.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted to recruit 216 NMOSD patients via WeChat groups from October 10 to 30, 2023. Data were collected using questionnaires, including sociodemographic characteristics, disease-related variables, and scales for psychological resilience, social support, social avoidance, anxiety, and depression. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was employed to explore potential profile patterns of psychological resilience and social avoidance in NMOSD patients, followed by multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify factors influencing these profiles.

RESULTS

The results of LPA indicate that the three types are the most suitable, and their characteristics were HR-LSA Group (High Resilience, Low Social Avoidance) (25.9%), MR-MSA Group (Moderate Resilience, Moderate Social Avoidance) (47.7%) and LR-HSA Group (Low Resilience, High Social Avoidance) (26.4%). Different patterns were related to depression score, social support and relapse frequency.

CONCLUSION

These findings enhance clinicians' understanding of the coexistence of psychological resilience and social avoidance, and provide valuable references for implementing appropriate management and support interventions for different patterns.