Coping styles and quality of life in adults with burn

• Coping strategies and burn-related quality of life share 47.6% overlapping variance.
• Burn patients with poorer body image engage in more dysfunctional coping styles.
• Self-blame and self-distraction coping are independent predictors of poorer body image.
• Intervention research targeting self-blame and self-distraction may increase quality of life.

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to examine the pattern of connections between coping strategies and indices of burn-related quality of life (BRQOL).MethodBurn patients (n = 83) were recruited from an outpatient burn clinic in the critical care hospital of a South Atlantic medical college. Participants completed measures of coping and BRQOL while in the waiting room before or after their medical appointment.ResultsA canonical correlation found that coping strategies and BRQOL were highly correlated with 47.6% overlapping variance. Within this canonical correlation, body image and dysfunctional coping had the largest loadings, suggesting that individuals with burn who exhibit negative perceptions of their body tend to engage in more dysfunctional coping styles. A multiple regression then found that a set of dysfunctional coping styles explained 39.2% of the variance in body image, with self-blame and self-distraction as independent predictors of negative perceptions of their body.ConclusionsTargeted intervention research that focuses on the reduction of psychological distress related to body image, self-blame, and self-distraction may have the potential to increase quality of life among individuals with burn.