Spontaneous Reports of Religious Coping by Patients with Chronic Physical Illness

Individuals undergoing the stress of physical illness often report the use of religious coping activities. This study compared the frequency of spontaneous reports of religious coping in three groups of patients including those with cancer preparing for a bone marrow transplant (n = 22), chronic pain (n= 36), and cardiovascular disease (n = 53). Participants were asked to respond to a written, open-ended question asking how they were coping with the challenges involved in their medical condition. The question asked them to list the resources, strategies, strengths, or behaviors that they found most helpful. No mention of religion or religious coping was included with the question. Of the 111 participants surveyed, 26.1% included religious coping in their responses. The relative percentage of religious coping was calculated by dividing the total number of coping responses by number of religious responses. Mean percentage of religious coping was highest in participants preparing for a bone marrow transplant (22.9%), followed by the cardiac group (5.7%), and the chronic pain group (3.8%)

Spontaneous Reports of Religious Coping by Patients with Chronic Physical Illness

Individuals undergoing the stress of physical illness often report the use of religious coping activities. This study compared the frequency of spontaneous reports of religious coping in three groups of patients including those with cancer preparing for a bone marrow transplant (n = 22), chronic pain (n= 36), and cardiovascular disease (n = 53). Participants were asked to respond to a written, open-ended question asking how they were coping with the challenges involved in their medical condition. The question asked them to list the resources, strategies, strengths, or behaviors that they found most helpful. No mention of religion or religious coping was included with the question. Of the 111 participants surveyed, 26.1% included religious coping in their responses. The relative percentage of religious coping was calculated by dividing the total number of coping responses by number of religious responses. Mean percentage of religious coping was highest in participants preparing for a bone marrow transplant (22.9%), followed by the cardiac group (5.7%), and the chronic pain group (3.8%)

Relaxation Training with and without Muscle Contraction in Subjects with Psychophysiological Disorders

Relaxation training with and without muscle contraction was evaluated in 30 adult patients undergoing biofeedback for psychophysiological disorders. Participants were randomized to two sessions of relaxation training with the type of training randomly determined for the first test session. Surface electromyographic activity was significantly lower during relaxation with muscle contraction (M ± SD: 4.68 ± 2.92 µV) compared to relaxation without muscle contraction (M ± SD: 5.91 ± 4.07 µV) (t(29) = 2.44, p = .021). Participants were about twice as likely to report that they preferred relaxation training without muscle contraction (53.3%) over training with muscle contraction (23.3%). No significant differences were found for fingertip temperature. The implications for the use of relaxation training in clinical practice are discussed

Relaxation Training with and without Muscle Contraction in Subjects with Psychophysiological Disorders

Relaxation training with and without muscle contraction was evaluated in 30 adult patients undergoing biofeedback for psychophysiological disorders. Participants were randomized to two sessions of relaxation training with the type of training randomly determined for the first test session. Surface electromyographic activity was significantly lower during relaxation with muscle contraction (M ± SD: 4.68 ± 2.92 µV) compared to relaxation without muscle contraction (M ± SD: 5.91 ± 4.07 µV) (t(29) = 2.44, p = .021). Participants were about twice as likely to report that they preferred relaxation training without muscle contraction (53.3%) over training with muscle contraction (23.3%). No significant differences were found for fingertip temperature. The implications for the use of relaxation training in clinical practice are discussed