Date of Award

Fall 1980

Document Type

Thesis - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

McLane, Aubrey

Second Advisor

Siegel, Hildegarde

Third Advisor

Miller, Judith

Abstract

Based on the premise that the timing of serious illness in relation to the life cycle will have an effect on how one copes with that illness, the study tested the hypotheses that younger men will use more active (and effective) coping strategies and older men will use less active (and less effective ) coping strategies . A semistructured interview was conducted with thirty-five men between the ages of thirty- six and seventy-two following the first myocardial infarction. The Omega Coping Strategies and Resolution were used to classify subjects' responses : The data yielded frequencies with which each group utilized the most effective, intermediate, and least effective coping strategies, and the effectiveness of the strategies as perceived by the subjects. Kendall's rank correlation coefficients were not strong enough to show a significant relationship between age and the use of most effective, intermediate, and least effective coping strategies. It was concluded that there are many determinants of coping in addition to one's developmental stage of adult life.

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