Using the Frost Rehabilitation Model, based on stress and coping models and health promotion models, this descriptive study investigated the relationships among self-esteem, perceived health status, social support, extent of myocardial damage, and functional status.

The sample consisted of 45 phase II cardiac rehabilitation participants from three Midwest community hospitals. The research instruments were administered when the participants entered into the phase II program and again after eight weeks of participation in the program. The instruments included a demographic and a resource questionnaire, Rosenberg's Global Self-Esteem Scale, Your Health Today Cantril Ladder, Personal Resource Questionnaire, and the Sickness Impact Profile (producing functional status, physiological and psychosocial subscale scores). Correlations and hierarchical regressions were the principal statistics used for data analysis; ANOVA, ANCOVA, and t tests were also used.

Findings showed higher self-esteem and levels of perceived health status on entry into the phase II program to be significantly correlated with healthier follow-up functional status and psychosocial subscale scores. Although entry social support did not demonstrate a significant correlation, higher level of social support on follow-up measurement were significantly correlated with healthier follow-up functional status and psychosocial subscale scores. Entry measurements of variables showed higher levels of perceived health status to be significantly correlated with healthier functional status and the psychosocial subscale scores. Follow-up measurements, however, showed higher levels of perceived health status to be significantly correlated with healthier physiological subscale scores but not functional status or psychosocial subscale scores.

After adding entry scores of the criterion varaibles (functional status, physiological status, and psychosocial status), multiple regression indicated that: (a) the extent of myocardial damage explained an additional 1% of the variance for functional status, (b) self-esteem and social support explained an additional 5% of the variance for the physiological subscale, and (c) the psychosocial subscale did not allow the addition of any other variables. Model testing showed a significant interaction effect between (a) self-esteem and extent of myocardial damage when predicting functional status, and (b) perceived health status and extent of myocardial damage when predicting psychological status.