Effectiveness of Guided Imagery on Stress and Coping among Wives of Alcoholics- A Quasi Experimental one Group Pre-Test Post-Test Research Design

Abstract

Alcoholism is one of the major health and social problem all over the world. It is the third leading psychiatric

problem in the world today. Addiction is a family problem and is a major source of stress for family members.

Objectives: 1. To assess and compare the stress and coping before and after administration of Guided

Imagery among wives of alcoholics. 2. To determine the relationship between stress and coping among

wives of alcoholics. 3. To determine the association of stress and coping with the selected variables among

wives of alcoholics.

Methodology: Quasi experimental study with one group pre-test post-test design. A total 33 wives of

alcoholics were selected by using purposive sampling technique. Tools: selected variables, Modified

Perceived Stress Scale and Brief COPE Scale were used. Guided Imagery intervention was given daily for

six days and each session was of 30 minutes which includes 5 minutes deep breathing exercise before and

after the active session of guiding with focused background music. Daily guided imagery sessions were

divided on different themes. Post test was taken on 8th day. Reliability of tool was estimated with Cronbach

Alpha (internal consistency). The descriptive and inferential statistics were applied by using SPSS version

1.  

Results: Kolmogorov Smirnov test was applied to check the normality of the data and data was normally

distributed; hence parametric tests were applied. Findings of the study indicated that Guided Imagery

was effective in reducing stress [“t”(32)=20.05 (p=0.00)] and improving the adaptive coping [“t”(32)=

6.91(p=0.00)] and reducing maladaptive coping [“t”= 6.87 (p=0.01)] among wives of alcoholics. There

was significant moderate negative correlation between stress and adaptive coping and there was significant

association of stress, adaptive coping and maladaptive coping with selected variables such as number of

children, age, monthly income and type of family. Further multiple regression was performed to check the

predictability of selected independent variables on stress. Conclusion: Guided Imagery was effective in

reducing stress and improving adaptive coping among wives of alcoholics.