Coping Styles Among Individuals with Severe Mental Illness and Comorbid PTSD.

Abstract

There is little known about coping styles used by individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) and even less known about the influence of a comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (SMI-PTSD) diagnosis on coping. The current study examines differences in utilization of coping strategies, overall psychological distress, and exposure to traumatic events between SMI only and SMI-PTSD individuals seeking community mental health clinic services (N=90). Results demonstrate that overall psychological distress and use of avoidance coping were significantly higher among the SMI-PTSD sample. Avoidance coping partially mediated the relationship between PTSD symptom severity and psychological distress. Findings suggest that the experience of PTSD for those with SMI is associated with increases in avoidance coping, a coping style that significantly contributes to psychological distress. Implications for further study and treatment within community mental health clinics are considered.