This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Maladaptive coping leads to worse psychological outcomes after IBD diagnosis
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
In the first 6 months after a diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease, patients’ health-related quality of life improved while maladaptive coping strategies were associated with worse psychological outcomes, according to recent study data.
“A new diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be overwhelming and cause psychological distress for the patient. Nevertheless, the way the patient reacts via their coping strategies to the diagnosis is arguably just as important as the diagnosis itself,” Andrew M. McCombie, PhD, from the University of Otago in New Zealand, told Healio Gastroenterology. This study “found that quality of life improved while neuroticism and the use of maladaptive (i.e. bad) coping strategies were associated with worse psychological and physical outcomes.”
Andrew M. McCombie
Aiming to determine the stability of coping strategies and personality during the first 6 months following an IBD diagnosis, and to evaluate their associations with health-related quality of life (HRQOL), anxiety and depression, McCombie and colleagues administered questionnaires measuring HRQOL, anxiety, depression, IBD symptoms, coping, personality and demographic information to patients newly diagnosed with IBD between April 2011 and April 2013 (n = 54) and 6 months after diagnosis (n = 43).
HRQOL determined by scores for Short Form (SF) 12 mental and physical questionnaires and the Short IBD Questionnaire (SIBDQ) increased from baseline to 6 months (P < .05). Baseline and 6-month coping strategies had low to moderate correlations with themselves with the exception of behavioral disengagement and instrumental support (P < .01 overall). Maladaptive coping strategies were associated with lower SIDBQ and SF-12 scores and with higher depression and anxiety at baseline and 6 months, while adaptive coping strategies did not demonstrate such associations. Neuroticism and extraversion remained stable between baseline and 6 months, and neuroticism was associated with worse anxiety, depression and HRQOL outcomes.
“This is the first study to psychologically monitor patients with IBD during the first 6 months after diagnosis, and there were novel findings,” the researchers wrote. “Coping changed, HRQOL improved, and neuroticism had strong associations with anxiety, depression, and impaired HRQOL. Whether the coping strategies are a cause or a consequence of HRQOL needs to be tested in an interventional study. A disease-specific coping instrument should be tested against the Brief [Coping Operations Preference Enquiry],” which was used to assess coping behaviors in this study. – by Adam Leitenberger
Disclosure: McCombie reports he is the recipient of the University of Otago Doctoral Scholarship and Todd Foundation award for excellence.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on July 27 to reflect additional information.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts