| The primary purpose of this exploratory study was to examine whether use of particular coping strategies (e.g., problem solving, cognitive restructuring, express emotions, social support, problem avoidance, wishful thinking, self-criticism, social withdrawal) predicted self-reported depression, anxiety, anger, and physical symptoms of family members of mental health consumers. A mail survey was conducted involving a non-random sample of 83 family members who were affiliated with the North Dakota Alliance for the Mentally Ill (ND-AMI). The survey consisted of a General Information questionnaire (e.g., demographics, variables representing antecedents to potential burden, and satisfaction factors), an abbreviated version of the Coping Strategies Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory-Short Form, the State-Trait Personality Inventory (Trait Anxiety and Anger subscales), and the Wahler Physical Symptoms Inventory. A response rate of 81.9% was obtained, with 68 ND-AMI family members returning the study materials.;Separate backward regression analyses were executed using depression, anxiety, anger, and physical symptoms as criterion variables and demographics, antecedents to potential burden, satisfaction factors, and coping strategies as predictor variables. Results indicated that gender predicted anger, with males showing greater levels. Also, family members who lived with the consumer reported greater levels of anxiety, while those who were financially responsible for the consumer showed lower levels of anxiety, and as family members' number of weekly hours engaged in caregiving for the consumer increased, their anxiety levels decreased. Finally, family members' increasing use of self-criticism and social withdrawal predicted increasing levels of depression, while increasing use of cognitive restructuring and social support predicted decreasing levels of depression; increasing use of self-criticism and social withdrawal predicted increasing levels of anxiety; and increasing use of express emotions and self-criticism predicted decreasing and increasing levels of physical symptoms, respectively. Additional backward regression analyses were performed using coping strategies as criterion variables and demographics, antecedents to potential burden, and satisfaction factors as predictor variables. Findings revealed several significant relationships, and hypothetical explanations for two- and three-way relationships, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed. |
