THE IMPACT OF DISPOSITIONAL COPING ON PHY SICAL COMPLAINTS AND LIFE SATISFACTION IN OLD-AGE

Well-being and mental and physical health in old age are influenced in a significant way by the fact that it is possible to cope successfull y With ongoing hazards, threats and problems. In recent years coping r esearch has shown increasing interest in coping processes in the elder ly. Most of the studies are focused on age-related differences in copi ng processes and on the issue of change or stability of coping in old age. However, the goal of our study was to examine the impact of dispo sitional coping strategies, conceptualized as consistent personality c haracteristics, on physical complaints and life satisfaction among the elderly. We recurred on the model of coping modes by Krohne, which po stulates two statistically independent person-specific coping dimensio ns named ''vigilance'' and ''cognitive avoidance''. Based on this mode l it is possible to identify the ''classical'' coping styles of ''sens itization'' (high vigilance and low cognitive avoidance) and ''regress ion'' (low vigilance and high cognitive avoidance). In our study, incl uding 766 subjects older than 60 years, we found a higher frequency of ''repressors'' than of ''sensitizers''. Results show that disposition al coping strategies are significant moderator variables of both physi cal complaints and life satisfaction: Older people who prefer a cognit ive-avoidant coping strategy (''repressors'') are more satisfied with their life and have less complaints than ''sensitizers''.