Coping and adaptation strategies in patients with inflammatory bower disease

The aims of this study were to evaluate stress coping strategies that Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients use frequently, to analyze the influence of these strategies in the process of general adaptation and to explore the patient personality characteristics associated with the general adaptation. The sample was of 40 patients. They filled-in a demographic questionnaire, the Adults Adaptation Questionnaire of Bell, the Coping Strategies Questionnaire of Lazarus and Folkman and the California Psychological Inventory of Gough. Results reflect that a high percentage of patients show a bad or non-satisfactory general adaptation. Additionally, avoidance is the coping strategy that better predicts bad adaptation. Finally, a patients personality profile has been obtained, although we cannot determine if these characteristics are previous to the disease or they occur as a consequence of this one.