IMPACTS OF BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS ON MENTAL HEALTH WITH MEDIATING EFFECT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS IN CARDIAC PATIENTS

This study desired to check a mediation model that measured the relationship between basic psychological needs and mental health by employing psychological distress as a mediating factor in cardiac patients. Total 313 Hospitalized Cardiac patients were chosen from Nishtar Hospital, Multan Pakistan through a purposive sampling technique and they completed a booklet of instruments targeted to measure study variables. Basic Psychological Needs Scale, an 18-item self-report Mental Health Inventory (MHI-18), and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) were used to study the target variables included in the model. A significant relationship is found in basic psychological needs, psychological distress, and mental health in cardiac patients. Results of the mediation model revealed that the relationship between basic psychological needs and anxiety, depression, behavioral control, and positive affect was significantly mediated by psychological distress. The results of the comparison of sub-scales of mental health between male and female cardiac patients reveal a significant difference in the subscales except for depression. The results are on the same track as previous research but the novelty of this research lies in its unique model tested with cardiac patients. Disciplinary: Psychology and Mental Health, Medicine and Cardiology (Cardiovascular Health and Disease). (c) 2020 INT TRANS J ENG MANAG SCI TECH.