Abstract
Purpose: This study examines stress-buffering effects of coping strategies (“active coping,” “one's own control,” and “meaning of illness”) in the relationship between stress cognition and mental health in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients.
Methods: Hierarchical multiple regression analysis using mental health as the dependent variable was conducted on 95 COPD patients. Post hoc probing was performed on variables showing significance in order to test for interaction effects.
Results: Interaction effect of “meaning of illness” on mental health were observed (β=−.439, p<0.01). According to the post hoc probing, when “meaning of illness” was low, stress cognition caused a decrease in mental health. However, when “meaning of illness”
was high, no differences in the effect of stress cognition levels on mental health were observed.
Conclusion: Thus, when meaning of illness was frequently used as a coping strategy, mental health was maintained, even if levels of stress cognition were high. This suggests the necessity of nursing intervention to help patients attach positive meaning to illness in order to maintain mental health.
