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Coping as Predictor of Psychiatric Functioning and Pain in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)

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Abstract

Coping is recognized as an increasingly important consideration in the management of chronic disease. Prayer, hostility and John Henryism appeared to be the most frequently discussed but least understood coping strategies associated with health outcomes in African Americans. The current study evaluated if prayer, hostility and John Henryism (JH) predicted psychiatric morbidity and pain in 67 adult African American patients with Sickle Cell Disease. We used a set of simple regressions to analyze continuous predictors (hostility and JH) and Analyses of Variance (ANOVA) to analyze the categorical predictor (prayer). Each of the coping variables was a statistically significant predictor of psychiatric morbidities. However, coping did not exert effects on the absolute value of pain. In summary, coping influenced reactions to pain but not reports of pain itself.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Division of Medical Psychology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Camela S. McDougald, Christopher L. Edwards, Mary Wood, Chante Wellington, Miriam Feliu & Lekisha Edwards

  2. Pain and Palliative Care Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Christopher L. Edwards, Mary Wood & Miriam Feliu

  3. Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Christopher L. Edwards

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Keisha O’Garo

  5. Department of Psychology, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, USA

    Elwood Robinson & Sherry Eaton

  6. Department of Psychology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Keith E. Whitfield

  7. Department of Psychology, University of West Indies, Mona, Jamaica

    Kai Morgan

  8. Department of Biology, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC, USA

    Goldie Byrd

  9. Department of Psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    John J. Sollers III

  10. Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Monique Cola

  11. Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Cara F. O’Connell

  12. Biofeedback Laboratory and Pediatric Neuropsychology Service, Duke University Medical Center, 932 Morreene Rd., Rm 170, Durham, NC, 27705, USA

    Christopher L. Edwards

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  1. Camela S. McDougald
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  2. Christopher L. Edwards
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  3. Mary Wood
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  4. Chante Wellington
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  5. Miriam Feliu
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  6. Keisha O’Garo
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  7. Lekisha Edwards
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  8. Elwood Robinson
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  9. Keith E. Whitfield
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  10. Sherry Eaton
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  11. Kai Morgan
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  13. John J. Sollers III
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  14. Monique Cola
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  15. Cara F. O’Connell
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Correspondence to Christopher L. Edwards.

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This article is dedicated to the memory of our dear friend and colleague, Dr. Rodney Clark, who we miss greatly and whose work continues to inspire the pursuit of scientific truth.

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McDougald, C.S., Edwards, C.L., Wood, M. et al. Coping as Predictor of Psychiatric Functioning and Pain in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). J Afr Am St 13, 47–62 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-008-9051-8

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