Coping and emotional response in cardiac surgery patients.

The purpose of this descriptive, correlational study was to examine coping and emotion in patients prior to and after cardiac surgery. The revised Ways of Coping Checklist (WCCL) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) were completed by 120 patients before surgery and on the fifth postoperative day. Participants had significant (p < .01) differences in coping prior to and following surgery. There were significant (p < .05) postoperative decreases in the use of several coping strategies (seeking social support, blaming oneself, and wishful thinking); however, the use of other coping strategies (problem-focused coping and avoidance) remained unchanged. Emotion did not change. There were positive, significant (p < .05) relationships between several of the coping strategies and perioperative emotion. Preoperative emotion was found to be the best independent predictor of the postoperative emotion.