An appraisal-based coping model of attachment and adjustment to arthritis

Abstract

Guided by pain-related attachment models and coping theory, we used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test an appraisal-based coping model of how insecure attachment was linked to arthritis adjustment in a sample of 365 people with arthritis. The SEM analyses revealed indirect and direct associations of anxious and avoidant attachment with greater appraisals of disease-related threat, less perceived social support to deal with this threat, and less coping efficacy. There was evidence of reappraisal processes for avoidant but not anxious attachment. Findings highlight the importance of considering attachment style when assessing how people cope with the daily challenges of arthritis. ATTACHMENT AND COPING WITH ARTHRITIS 3 A major source of disability worldwide (Arthritis Society, 2010), arthritis is one of the most common chronic pain conditions. Although arthritis can take many different forms, joint pain, inflammation, and functional limitations are common challenges for people living with arthritis. The functional limitations and unpredictable nature of arthritis symptoms can also

Food allergy and attitudes to close interpersonal relationships: An exploratory study on attachment

“…Findings showed that young people with food allergy reported significantly higher levels of Discomfort with Closeness, Relationships as Secondary and Attachment Avoidance compared to healthy controls. This is in line with previous studies finding attachment insecurity in a variety of chronic diseases . Individuals with food allergy seem to share with other chronic patients the tendency to use avoidant strategies to cope with disease‐related repeated stressors .…”

“…Attachment theory provides a theoretic framework to evaluate the quality of close interpersonal relationships in the context of chronic disorders . “Attachment behavioural system,” described as a species‐universal, biologically evolved neural programme, organizes behaviour in ways that increase the chances of an individual's survival, despite inevitable environmental dangers and demands.…”

“…Chronic disorders represent adverse conditions that may promote a shift towards attachment insecurity, as the persistent disease‐related stress may induce patients to massively use affect regulation strategies either hyperactivating or deactivating the attachment system . Indeed, attachment insecurity, mainly characterized by AAv, has been found in a variety of medical conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, arthritis, Crohn's disease and lupus …”

“…No previous studies to our knowledge have addressed these issues. We chose an exploratory approach aimed to firstly verify whether attachment could be a critical issue in food allergy, as demonstrated for other medical diseases previously assessed . We intend to assess whether patients with food allergy, as many other patients with chronic diseases, could show an imbalance towards Aav.…”

Validating a Patient-Reported Comorbidity Measure with Respect to Quality of Life in End-Stage Renal Disease

“…To obtain insights into patients’ QoL and the impact of comorbidity, solely “counting” their diseases may not lead to adequate conclusions. For example, the subjective appraisal plays an important role on the effect of perceived stress due to chronic diseases [ 21 , 22 ]. Hence, it is very likely that externally assessed and self-reported comorbidity differ to some extent and that the patients’ statement contains valuable hints regarding actual QoL.…”