Coping Skills, Social Support, and Quality of Life Among Puerto Rican Women Undergoing Drug and/or Alcohol Treatment

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine how Puerto Rican women undergoing illicit drug and/or alcohol treatment cope with stress and how specific coping strategies may relate to greater well-being. Thirty-five participants were recruited from six different treatment centers in Puerto Rico. Participants described two stressful events, one with internal control and other with low internal control. Problem and emotion-focused coping strategies were measured with the Spanish version of the Brief COPE inventory. Quality of life was measured with the Spanish version of the WHOQOL-BREF, both measures have good internal reliability and have been used among Hispanic samples. Moreover, social support was measured using the Spanish version of the MOS Social Support Scale to test its effect over coping strategies and quality of life. We expect that when there is low control, emotion-focused will be positively related with quality of life insofar that emotion-focused coping will be positively associated with emotional social support which will then predict quality of life. Additionally, when there is high control, problem-focused coping will be positively related with quality of life insofar that problem-focused coping will be positively associated with instrumental social support which will then predict quality of life. This was one of the first studies that examined coping strategies and quality of life among Puerto Rican women undergoing illicit drug and/or alcohol recovery. Understanding how women cope and its relation with quality of life might provide a better insight to treatment development and long-term recovery.