Coping Strategies and Quality of Life of Women with Various Somatic Disorders

Abstract

Aim: Identification of coping strategies specific to individuals with various somatic pathologies and different quality of life. Design: Retrospective, case-control. Materials and Methods: 749 women were examined (249 did not indicate the presence of somatic pathologies, 500 indicated them in their medical history and as current, 353 had currently experienced pathologies; mean age 41.9 ± 11.48 years) using the "Ways of Coping Questionnaire", "Method of Determining Individual Coping Strategies", S. Maddi's Hardiness test, SF-12. Results. Productive coping strategies were found to be characteristic of women with higher quality of life, while unproductive coping strategies were found to be characteristic of women with lower quality of life. Specific coping strategies were discovered that differentiate women with various diseases from healthy women. Women who reported different illnesses in their medical history or were currently experiencing them showed greater severity of unproductive coping strategies (resignation, dissimulation, confusion, distancing). Coping strategies specific to various diseases were identified. Conclusion. The obtained results were compared with those presented in the literature. They can be used to correct coping strategies that worsen well-being and are negatively associated with patient quality of life. Keywords: coping strategies, women, quality of life, somatic pathologies.