Mediation effect of perceived social support between aggression of patients and doctor-patients trust

Abstract

Objective To explore the relationship among aggression of patients, doctor-patient trust and perceived social support, and to provide a new prospective of improving doctor-patient relationship. Methods Data of Chinese buss-perry aggression scale, wake forest physician trust scale and perceived social support were collected from a sample of 338 patients in Guangzhou and analyzed with structural equation modeling. Results ①Median(interquartile range) of aggression, doctor-patient trust and perceived social support were 54(18), 32(8) and 62(15) respectively. ②Total score of aggression(Z=-2.37, P=0.02)and the dimension score of physical-aggression(Z=-4.07, P<0.01) between different gender were statistically significant, and the scores of male were higher than female. ③According to relevant result, aggression of patients was significantly negatively correlated with both doctor-patient trust (r=-0.13, P<0.05)and perceived social support(r=-0.14, P<0.01). Doctor-patient trust was significantly positively correlated with perceived social support(r=0.36, P<0.01) ④Perceived social support fully mediate the relationship between aggression of patients and doctor-patient trust(GFI=0.989, NFI=0.989, IFI=0.998, CFI=0.998, RMSEA=0.026, χ2/df=1.229). Conclusion Perceived social support is a protective factor of aggression of patients. Improving the perceived social support of patients can promote the doctor-patient trust. Key words: Aggression; Doctor-patient trust; Perceived social support