SELF-COMPASSION, SOCIAL SUPPORT, RESILIENCE, AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN WOMEN WITH POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME (PCOS)

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative research was to examine the connection between self-compassion, social support, resilience, and health-related quality-of-life, and how resilience played a mediating role in this relationship. Correlation cross-sectional research design was used and by adopting the purposive sampling strategy the data was collected from 200 women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (as per Modified Rottersdam Criteria), aged 18-30 years (M=24.08, SD=3.51). Demographic Questionnaire, Neff’s Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form (SCS-SF) (Imtiaz & Kamal, 2016), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) (Jibeen, 2016), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) (Sarwar et al., 2021) and Modified Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Quality of Life Questionnaire (MPCOSQ) (Zaman et al., 2024) were used to assess the study variables.  Results showed that self-compassion, social support, resilience, and health-related quality-of-life were significantly positively correlated. Moreover, resilience acted as a partial mediator in the relationship between self-compassion, and health-related quality-of-life whereas as a full mediator in the link between social support, and health-related quality of life. All paths were shown to be significant. These findings have significant implications for clinical practice, education, and policy-making, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to improve HRQOL in women with PCOS. Future research should explore underlying mechanisms and additional factors to inform effective treatment strategies