Age, pain, and coping with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of age and pain severity (i.e. mild versus severe pain) in predicting coping strategies of individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). An age-stratified sample ( N=121) of individuals diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis completed a modified version of the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ). Individuals were asked to report the coping strategies used for mild versus severe pain. Findings included: (1) older adults were more likely than younger adults to report use of maladaptive coping strategies in the context of mild, but not severe, RA pain, (2) older adults’ reported patterns of coping reflected less-than-anticipated expertise in dealing with RA pain, and (3) individuals, regardless of age, reported use of more active coping strategies in the context of mild pain and use of more maladaptive coping strategies in the context of severe pain. The present study suggests that research regarding illness and coping is most informative when it captures the individual-situational interaction of dealing with stressors such as chronic pain.