ILLNESS PERCEPTIONS, COPING AND FUNCTIONING IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS, CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY-DISEASE AND PSORIASIS

The present cross-sectional study analyzed the extent to which illness perceptions and coping strategies (as measured by the Illness Percept ion Questionnaire and the Utrecht Coping List, respectively) are assoc iated with levels of daily functioning, as indicated by the Medical Ou tcomes Study SF-20, and disease-specific measures in 244 adults: 84 wi th rheumatoid arthritis (RA); 80 with chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD); and 80 with psoriasis. The results of stepwise regression ana lyses indicated that a strong illness identity, passive coping, belief in a long illness duration, belief in more severe consequences, and a n unfavorable score on medical variables were associated with worse ou tcome on disease-specific measures of functioning and on general role and social functioning. Coping by seeking social support and beliefs i n controllability/curability of the disease were significantly related to better functioning. The implications of these findings for future interventions and research are discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science In c.