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Journal of Behavioral Medicine, Vol. 27, No. 2, April 2004 ( CKerstin E. E. Schroder1Accepted for publication: September 16, 2003This tested the utility of the Coping Competence Questionnaire (CCQ) in
predicting depression among chronic disease patients. Coping competence is
defined as a dispositional stress resistance factor based on helplessness and
hopelessness theory.Predictive power and buffering effects of the CCQ were
tested in three patient samples scheduled for Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery
(N =272), other heart surgeries (N = 109), or lung tumor surgery (N = 203).
Coping competence, symptom stress, and depression were assessed before
and 6-months following surgery. Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated
moderator effects of coping competence in the relationship between symptom stress and depression, supporting the stress-buffer hypothesis. Symptom
stress was strongly correlated with depression among patients who were low in
coping competence only. Among patients high in coping competence, depression was low and unaffected by symptom stress. The results suggest that the
12-item coping competence scale may qualify as useful tool for the prediction
of depression in chronic disease populations.KEY WORDS: chronic disease; depression; stress; coping; diathesis-stress model.COPING COMPETENCE AS PREDICTOR AND MODERATOR OF
DEPRESSION AMONG CHRONIC DISEASE PATIENTSPatients with chronic medical illness have a markedly increased risk
of depression. Prevalence rates of major depression range from 15 to 23%
(Burg and Abrams, 2001; Frazure-Smith et al., 1993; Hosaka et al., 1999;1To whom correspondence should be addressed at Department of Psychology, Utah State
University, 2810 Old Main Hill, Logan, Utah 84322-2810; e-mail: [email protected]/04/0400-0123/0 C 2004 Plenum Publishing Corporation 2004)Coping Competence as Predictor and Moderator
of Depression Among Chronic Disease Patients124 SchroderLehto et al., 2000; Roose et al., 2001), and another 15 to 27% of chronic medical patients experience symptoms of minor depression (Burg and Abrams,
2001; Roose et al., 2001). Among myocardial infarct patients and coronary artery bypass (CABS) patients, prevalence rates of 50% and more
have been reported (Burg and Abrams, 2001). Similar rates (3140%) were
found among patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Yohannes et al., 2000), stroke (Roose et al., 2001), and cancer (Antoni
et al., 2001; Crum et al., 1994; vant Spijker et al., 1997). In comparison,
epidemiological studies report an estimated average of 9.5% of depressive
disorders per year in the adult American population (NIMH, 2001),...