PREPARATION FOR ORAL-SURGERY - EVALUATING ELEMENTS OF COPING

Third-molar extraction patients (N = 231) underwent one of five prepar atory interventions offering different levels of relaxation, control, and self-efficacy to evaluate the relative importance of each of these elements of coping in the context of an acute stressor prior to surge ry subjects completed measures of monitoring and blunting. Results ind icated that relaxation, perceived control, and self-efficacy were each significant, and roughly equivalent, contributors to coping, and oper ated in an additive way. Intervention type, and the interaction of int ervention type with blunting score, significantly predicted distress p rior to and during surgery. It was concluded that no single element is crucial to effective coping and that interventions that provide more coping elements are generally superior Additionally, the interaction o f coping style with intervention is as strong a contributor to coping outcome as the other factors. Those who prefer to distract themselves may benefit most from interventions that require the least possible pe rsonal investment of effort and attention.