The Effectiveness of Positive Psychology in Improving Resilience Among Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases

Objective: This study aims to investigate the potential of positive psychology interventions (PPIs) to enhance the resilience of CVD patients. Methods and Materials: This quasi-experimental study utilized pre-test and post-test evaluations, a control group, and a one-month follow-up assessment. The sample comprised 50 male patients diagnosed with CVD, purposively selected from the Baghdad Teaching Hospital in 2023. The participants were randomly divided into two groups (25 people in each group). Resilience was measured using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (Connor & Davidson, 2003). For data analysis, repeated measure analysis of variance and Bonferroni post-hoc test were used (SPSS 26 software). Findings: Repeated measures ANOVA indicated a significant time*group interaction effect (p<0.001, η²p=0.65). The intervention group had significantly higher resilience scores at post-test (p<0.001) and follow-up (p<0.001) compared to pre-test. At the same time, no significant differences were found across time points for the control group (p>0.05). The intervention group showed significantly higher resilience than the control group at post-test (p<0.001) and follow-up (p<0.001), but not at pre-test (p>0.05). Conclusion: The study demonstrated the effectiveness of PPIs in significantly improving the resilience of patients with CVD. These findings suggest the potential of incorporating psychological interventions in medical treatment to enhance patient well-being and quality of life. Future research should focus on expanding demographic diversity and exploring the long-term effects of PPIs in various stages of CVD.