title: Perceptual style and behavioral pattern of individuals with functional gastrointestinal disorders.
abstract: The present research examined the perceptual style and coping pattern characterizing individuals with functional gastrointestinal disorders. A matched case-control design was adopted to compare differences among the target group of individuals with functional gastrointestinal disorders (n = 40), a pain control group of individuals with rheumatism (n = 40), and the community control group of healthy individuals (n = 40). Perceptual style was measured by both monitoring and blunting responses to hypothetical stressful situations, and coping pattern was measured by the use of coping strategies in real-life stressful events. Results revealed that participants with functional gastrointestinal disorders differed from their healthy and rheumatic counterparts in having higher monitoring and lower blunting scores and using action-oriented coping strategies regardless of the controllability of stressful situations.
authors.affiliation: Division of Social Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon. soccheng@ust.hk
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lam
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception; D010865:Pilot Projects