Expressed emotion as a moderator of the relationship between illness perception and quality of life in people with Multiple Sclerosis

The aim of the current study is to examine the moderator role of expressed emotion in the relationship between illness perception and quality of life in MS patients. The sample of the study consists of 60 individuals with MS who applied to the Başkent University Ankara Hospital Neurology Department for treatment and individuals who participated online. The data were collected via; Demographic Information Form, Illness Perception Questionnaire: Views About the Illness sub-dimension, Level of Expressed Emotion Scale, and MS Related Quality of Life Scale. As a result of the statistical analyzes, it was found that there were significant relationships between the main variables of the study (except for timeline: cyclical). The results of the analysis on the relationship between views about the illness and quality of life revealed that all sub-dimensions predicted the quality of life, except for the timeline (cyclical) sub-dimension. Also, expressed emotion was found to be significantly correlated with quality of life. The results of the moderation analysis, on the other hand, revealed that expressed emotion only had a moderator role in the relationship between personal control and physical health related quality of life. The analysis findings obtained at the end of the research were discussed in the light of the relevant literature.