title: Coping with acute myocardial infarction.
abstract: This study examines how patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) cope. The nonrandom sample consisted of 30 acutely ill patients with AMI. Data were collected with an open-ended interview derived from cognitive coping theory and the Jalowiec Coping Scale. Interview content was analyzed with qualitative methods; data collected by use of the JCS were quantitatively examined. From the patients' appraisals emerged a unique description of coping with AMI that differed from the denial-focused description proposed by earlier investigators. In addition, patients used many and varied coping strategies during the first 3 days of illness. Among those contributing most to the total coping efforts of the group were the optimistic-, confrontive-, self-reliant-, and supportant-type strategies. Contrary to findings of earlier investigators, there was little evidence of attempts by patients with AMI to deny the existence of the illness as a means of coping.
authors.affiliation: Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington.
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Scherck
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003717:Denial, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*