Introduction:

Alcohol dependency is a chronic illness which generates uncertainty and other emotional problems among the relatives of persons who suffer alcoholism. Social support and spirituality are some coping mechanisms which could reduce uncertainty and favor the physical and psychological wellbeing.

Objective:

To determine the relationship and the effect of social support and spirituality on the uncertainty experienced by relatives of alcohol dependent persons.

Methods:

This is a descriptive and correlational study. The sample was constituted by 135 women members of Al-Anon. The Mishel Scale of Perception of Uncertainty among Parents and Family Members (PPUS-FM), the Sherbourne and Stewart Questionnaire, and the Reed Spiritual Perspective Scale were all used.

Results:

Significant negative correlation coefficients between uncertainty and social support (r s= -.356, p .05). and spirituality (r s= -.216, p .05). were identified. Using a univariate general linear regression model, it was determined that only social supports reduced uncertainty (β= -.280, t= -3.62, p= .001) with 11.5% of variance explained; while spirituality did not produce any effect (β = -.041, t= .218, p >.05).

Conclusions:

Social support is identified as a coping mechanism which can be used by nursing staff to develop interventions aimed at reducing uncertainty among relatives of alcohol dependent persons.