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Coping, meaning in life, and quality of life in congestive heart failure patients

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Abstract

Objective

The present study examined (1) whether particular coping strategies used to deal with congestive heart failure (CHF) are related to meaning in life across time, and (2) whether meaning in life mediates the effect of coping on health-related quality of life.

Methods

A sample of 155 CHF patients received questionnaire packets at two time points, 6 months apart. Main outcome measures included Meaning in Life and Mental and Physical Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL).

Results

Coping (particularly acceptance/positive reinterpretation and religious coping) was not only related to meaning in life, but also to increased meaning over time. Further, meaning in life was related to both mental and physical components of HRQOL. However, coping was minimally related to HRQOL and its effects were not mediated by meaning in life.

Conclusions

These results add to accumulating evidence that life meaning is important in the context of living with a chronic, life-threatening illness. Further, coping—especially acceptance and religious coping—is related to increased life meaning over time in the context of life limiting illness.

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Notes

  1. Virtually all of the eligible potential participants approached elected to participate in the study. However, the number of refusals was not recorded.

  2. Missing data in this sample were minimal. Item mean substitution was used and no participants were dropped due to missing data.

  3. Although NYHA classification was not related to meaning in life, it was related to HRQOL, so the regression analysis predicting meaning was conducted using NYHA classification in the first step. Results for coping were virtually identical to those shown in Table 2.

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Acknowledgement

This study was funded by the American Heart Association-Ohio Valley through a Scientist Development grant to the first author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA

    Crystal L. Park, Marc R. Malone & Rivkah I. Rosen

  2. Comprehensive Cardiology Consultants, Inc., Cincinnati, OH, USA

    D. P. Suresh & D. Bliss

Authors
  1. Crystal L. Park
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  2. Marc R. Malone
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  3. D. P. Suresh
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  4. D. Bliss
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  5. Rivkah I. Rosen
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Correspondence to Crystal L. Park.

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Park, C.L., Malone, M.R., Suresh, D.P. et al. Coping, meaning in life, and quality of life in congestive heart failure patients. Qual Life Res 17, 21–26 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-007-9279-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-007-9279-0

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