Emotions, coping, and psychological well-being in elderly people with arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis, the most destructive and crippling of all forms of arthritis, poses a number of stressful demands on individuals. In a sample of elderly women (N = 59) and men (N = 19) with rheumatoid arthritis, the relationship between social economic status, severity of impairment, sex, stress emotions, type of coping strategy, and psychological well-being was explored. Path analysis results indicated that higher social economic status was directly related to greater use of confrontive types of coping strategies. Severity of impairment had a direct, negative influence on psychological well-being, but sex was not an important factor. Optimistic coping strategies were used most often and emotive coping strategies the least.
Downe-Wamboldt
B L
BL
Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Melanson
P M
PM
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000523:psychology*; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*