Gender, health ambiguity, and depression among survivors of first stroke: A pilot study

Objective: To investigate the association between health ambiguity and depressive symptoms among stroke survivors and whether survivor gender moderates this association. Design: Cross-sectional survey study. Setting: General community. Participants: Survivors of first stroke (N=36) recruited through provider referral, support groups, and print and Web-based sources. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Depressive symptoms as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Results: Health ambiguity (β=.984, P<.001), gender (β=1.010, P<.01), and the interaction of the 2 variables (β=-1.269, P<.05) were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Simple slopes tests indicated that the association between health ambiguity and depressive symptoms was stronger for male versus female survivors. Conclusions: Gender and health ambiguity impact survivor depressive symptoms, independently and in conjunction with one another. Results are promising, and further research with larger samples and more comprehensive statistical models is needed to confirm these findings.