The Role of Stress Perception and Coping with Stress and the Quality of Life Among Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Aleksandra Kołtuniuk; Magdalena Kazimierska-Zając; Kinga Cisek; Justyna Chojdak-Łukasiewicz

doi:10.2147/PRBM.S310664

The Role of Stress Perception and Coping with Stress and the Quality of Life Among Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2021 Jun 18:14:805-815. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S310664. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Aleksandra Kołtuniuk¹, Magdalena Kazimierska-Zając¹, Kinga Cisek¹, Justyna Chojdak-Łukasiewicz²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nervous System Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
² Department of Neurology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.

Abstract

Purpose: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common neurological disorders and a cause of disability in young adults. Adequate stress management in MS patients may merit the benefits of both physical and psychological well-being. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of life in MS patients and its correlation with stress levels and coping strategies.

Methods: This descriptive and correlational study was conducted among 109 patients diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). The study was based on a questionnaire designed by the authors and the following standardized questionnaires: the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the Inventory for Measuring Coping with Stress (Mini-COPE), and the Multiple Sclerosis International Quality of Life Questionnaire (MusiQoL).

Results: Data analysis showed that 47.71% of the patients experienced a high level of stress, and the most often used strategies under challenging situations included seeking emotional support (2.11) and active coping (1.96). Also, it showed that when the level of stress is higher, the QOL in all domains is lower. Coping strategies such as sense of humor, turning to religion, self-distraction, denial, venting, substance use, behavioral disengagement, and self-blame are negatively correlated with the quality of life of MS.

Conclusion: Quality of life in MS patients is negatively affected by a higher level of perceived stress. The use of coping strategies such as active coping, positive reframing, acceptance, and seeking emotional and instrumental support is positively correlated with the quality of life of MS patients.

Keywords: coping with stress; multiple sclerosis; quality of life; stress perception.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Health subventions according to the number of SUB.E020.21.002 from the IT Simple system of the Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.