The Prevalence of Anxiety, Stress, and Depression with Respect to Coping Strategies in Caregivers of Patients with Head Injuries

Context: Psychological problems are very common in traumatic patients’ caregivers necessitating usage of appropriate coping strategies to promote their mental health. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess anxiety, stress, and depression as well as coping strategies in caregivers of patients with head injuries. Settings and Design: In this cross‑sectional study, 127 caregivers of traumatic patients referred to educational hospitals of Zabol city were selected by convenience sampling method. Subjects and Methods: The data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, as well as Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale‑21 and the Jalowiec coping strategies tools. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one‑way ANOVA, independent samples Student’s t‑test, and multivariate regression model. Results: Our findings showed that more than 70% of the caregivers of patients with head injuries suffered from severe and very severe stress and anxiety. The multivariate regression model demonstrated a negative and significant relationship between either stress (B = −0.81 P = 0.001) or depression (B = −1.23 P = 0.000) and problem‑based coping strategies. Furthermore, stress (B = 0.64 P = 0.006) and anxiety (B = 0.74 P = 0.002) were negatively associated with emotional‑based coping strategies. Conclusion: Considering the high rates of anxiety, stress, and depression in caregivers of patients with head injuries and significant associations observed between these variables and problem‑based strategies, it is necessary to identify and obviate factors leading to anxiety and to educate coping strategies to these individuals.