Coping Processes in Ankylosing Spondylitis

Persons with Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are subject to variety of psychosocial consequences, which can be more harmful than the other medical difficulties they have. The present study was mainly aimed at understanding the coping processes used by patients with Ankylosing spondylitis. For this, 100 patients of Anklyosing Spondylitis aged 18 to 30 years were selected from PGIMS, Rohtak and BPSGMC, Khanpur Kalan, Sonepat to participate in the study along with 100 normal controls. Data were collected by administering Folkman and Lazarus' Ways of Coping Questionnaire. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics (Mean, SD, SK, and KU) to ascertain the normalcy of data, t-ratios to compare the two groups in terms of their mean scores of eight measures of coping, and Discriminant Function Analysis to examine the joint contribution of all the eight variables in differentiation of two groups. Results revealed that patients with AS scored significantly low on Confrontive Coping, Self Controlling, Seeking Social Support, Accepting Responsibility, Planful Problem Solving, and Positive Reappraisal. In Discriminant Analysis, Positive Reappraisal, Self Controlling, and Distancing emerged most potent discriminators classifying the two groups correctly by 83.5%. Overall findings revealed the patients with AS to be significantly low on both the problem-focused and emotion-focused ways of coping.