Adolescents and Young Adults Living with Congenital Heart Disease: Coping, Stress Reactivity, and Emotional Functioning

Abstract

Living with congenital heart disease (CHD) presents survivors with numerous stressors, which may contribute to emotional problems. This study examined (a) whether coping with CHD-related stress predicts symptoms of depression and anxiety, and (b) whether associations between coping and emotional distress are moderated by involuntary stress reactivity. Adolescents and young adults diagnosed with CHD (M = 26.4) were recruited from pediatric and adult outpatient cardiology clinics. Participants (N = 168) completed online self-report measures. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that secondary control coping (e.g., cognitive restructuring, positive thinking) predicted lower depression and anxiety. Primary control coping (e.g., problem-solving) and stress reactivity (e.g., rumination, emotional numbing) interacted to predict depression and anxiety: the higher individuals were in involuntary stress reactivity, the stronger was the association between primary control coping and lower depression and anxiety. These results can inform clinical efforts to prevent or reduce emotional distress among CHD survivors.

Learning Environments in Health and Medical Studies: The Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence

“…Accordingly, encountering a negatively appraised situation may trigger poor adaptive responses that can create barriers to finding effective solutions to problems. Altogether, this situation can lead to the adoption of ineffective coping strategies and, in turn, an increase in anxiety [18,19].…”

“…If the assessment of a situation is negative and the person lacks the means to deal with it, a stress response associated with physical, psychological, and even emotional symptoms may be triggered. This response leads to a less effective coping style [18]. Clark and Beck [19] concluded that coping strategies often play a significant role in the ongoing presence of disorders such as anxiety and are consistent with latent schematic content and cognitive vulnerability.…”

“…In this study, we explored the possibilities created by the psychology of sustainability and sustainable development for health students in healthy, well-balanced education [1]. We conclude that emotional intelligence may be crucial for health students and for practice in the health profession because it encourages the use of active coping strategies [18]. Emotional intelligence also facilitates interpersonal relationships among health students and helps them to successfully manage their own emotions and the emotions of others [32].…”

The origins and development of the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcome Collaborative: creating innovative clinical, quality improvement, and research opportunities

“…5,9,[28][29][30][31][32][33] These difficulties may result in the child or adolescent with congenital heart disease having more behavioural and emotional problems, worse self-perception, social isolation, and school difficulties, as well as a greater need for academic, therapeutic, and psychosocial/psychiatric supports. 5,9,[34][35][36][37][38][39][40] By adolescence, one-third to one-half of survivors of neonatal and infant surgery have required special services in school, 7-15% have been placed in substantially separate classrooms, and~18% have repeated a grade. [30][31][32][33] With transition to adulthood, neurocognitive and behavioural disabilities can impact employability, the ability to form meaningful peer relationships, mental health, and health-related quality of life.…”

What Do We Know About Young Adult Cardiac Patients' Experience? A Systematic Review

“…Studies that include young adults coping with a cardiac illness are scarce (McDonough, 2009 ; Wong et al, 2017 ). Systematic reviews interested in the psychosocial aspects of individuals coping with a cardiac illness do not specifically deal with young adults (Fredericks et al, 2012 ; Foxwell et al, 2013 ; Herr et al, 2014 ; Doyle et al, 2015 ; Li et al, 2015 ; Tully et al, 2015 ; Ooi et al, 2016 ; Le et al, 2018 ), and studies that do usually focus on patients coping with congenital heart diseases (Van Rijen et al, 2004 , 2005a , b ; Fredriksen et al, 2009 ; Asp et al, 2015 ; Uzark et al, 2015 , 2016 ; Jackson et al, 2017 ; Abda et al, 2018 ; Andonian et al, 2018 ; Grady et al, 2018 ; Monti et al, 2018 ).…”