Abstract
PurposeThis study explores changes in emotional component of subjective well-being (SWB) of patients after their first myocardial infarction (MI) and two kinds of mechanisms: attribution of positive (PA) and negative (NA) affect and a mediation effect of coping.MethodsAffect and coping strategies (problem-, emotion-, and avoidance-focused) were assessed in 121 male patients (age 52.26 ± 7.08 years) a few days after the first MI and then 1 and 6 months later. The indicator of emotional SWB was affect balance, calculated as the ratio of PA to NA. Mediation was tested using the PROCESS macro.ResultsThe affect balance changed over time, from a predominance of negativity a few days post-MI to more positive 1 and 6 months later (F2, 119 = 21.87, p < 0.001). The results of parallel multiple mediation showed a mediating effect of emotion-focused coping on the changes in affect balance over time. Separate analyses for PA and NA showed the same results for NA. Problem-focused coping mediated PA changes in the early post-hospitalization period.ConclusionsMyocardial infarction may activate PA alongside the NA, but the predominance of PA over NA in both early and late post-hospitalization period was minimal. Affect balance appeared to be largely dependent on NA and its changes. Coping strategies partly mediated the changes in well-being, providing a basis for practical interventions.
Highlights
This study explores changes in emotional component of subjective well-being (SWB) of patients after their first myocardial infarction (MI) and two kinds of mechanisms: attribution of positive (PA) and negative (NA) affect and a mediation effect of coping
The present study examines the role of coping strategies for stress that may account for changes in the emotional wellbeing of male myocardial infarction (MI) survivors in a 6-month follow-up period
Previous studies show that MI survivors usually experience negative affect (NA) [1], which coincides with limited physical functioning, cardiac complications [2, 3], and deterioration of quality of life [4, 5]
Summary
The second aim of the study was to test whether coping strategies mediate changes in emotional SWB indicators after MI, as postulated by stress and coping theory [14]. With a focus on the positive facets of well-being, the aims of the study were to test changes in affect balance after the first MI, the dynamics of both PA and NA, and their contributions to affect balance changes
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