Stress coping styles among patients in a psychosomatic setting

Abstract

The impact of strain is more a consequence of personal coping skills than of the stressor itself 1, 2. Coping strategies can be divided into "emotional focussed" strategies with a focus on positive emotions, distraction, self-care and regeneration 3, 4 or "problem-orientated coping" with a direct focus on dealing with the problem itself, resistance against adversities, endurance and continuous activities despite negative feelings 5, 6. People potentially have both strategies, but in a different level and combination like a "personal style". By measuring the level of those strategies, one is able to adapt therapeutic interventions. The aim of the study was to investigate those personal styles and their impact in a psychosomatic sample. At the beginning of a psychosomatic treatment, data from 607 Persons on the "ReRe-Scale" 7 was used and stress coping styles were identified with a cluster analysis. 5 Cluster were identified, one with a predominant resistance-orientation (17 %), one with a dominant regeneration-orientation (18 %) and 3 mixed-types with a low (15 %), medium (30 %) and high (20 %) level on regeneration and resistance-orientation. Patients with a high level in both and with a high level on regeneration-orientation have a lower level of psychopathologic symptoms, whereas a high level of resistance-orientation only (without regeneration-orientation) is connected with a higher symptom level. Patients can be assigned to different personality styles in coping. A high level on regeneration-orientation seems to be an advance when it comes to psychopathology.