Original article Changes in the perception of self-image and the sense of purpose and meaning in life, among women who lost their child before birth

Background The article is concerned with descriptions of self-image and the sense of purpose in life, among women who have experienced the loss of a child through miscarriage, premature birth or stillbirth. The loss of a child at the prenatal stage is a very difficult experience for the mother. Such women experience a wide range of emotions and often show unpredictable behaviours, both of which can influence their future functioning and mental health. Participants and procedure The goal of the current study was to look at the differences between women who had given birth to a healthy child, and those who lost an unborn child. A total of 125 women participated in the study. The Gough and Heilbrun Adjective Check List (ACL) as well as Wong’s Personal Meaning Profile tests were used as research methods. Results As expected, significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of their self-image and perceived sense of purpose and meaning in life. Women who lost an unborn child had a tendency for lower self-esteem, higher perceived guilt and lower needs. Conclusions The obtained results suggest the need for observation of mothers who experienced a prenatal child loss. The access to professional help and support from physicians and, more importantly, psychologists and therapists has an influence on their self-image, and the sense of purpose in both the present and the future. Adequate professional assistance has an influence on their family relations and their ability to plan another pregnancy (further attempts at conception), without a perception of guilt associated with the loss of the previous child

Coping with stress and quality of life in women with stress urinary incontinence

Introduction: Urinary incontinence (UI) involves uncontrolled leakage of urine through the urethra as a result of damage to its sphincter muscle and a disturbed function of the urogenital diaphragm within the pelvis minor. The symptoms of UI radically impair psychological, somatic, and social functioning. The aim of each disease stress coping process is to reduce the impact of harmful agents as well as the acquisition of necessary preventive measures in order to combat the disorder. Aim of the study was to assess the relationship between coping styles used when dealing with stress associated with disease and the quality of life. Material and methods: The study was carried out at an outpatients’ clinic located in the Lublin Province (eastern Poland), covering 150 women with diagnosed stress urinary incontinence, aged between 32 and 79. The following methods were used: (a) Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (Endler, Parker) to assess coping styles, (b) CASP-19 scale (Higgins, Hyde, Wiggins, Blade) to measure the overall quality of life, and (c) Urinary Incontinence Life Quality Scale (Szymona-Pałkowska, Kraczkowski). Results : The preferred style in the studied group of women was Task-Oriented Coping. This style is associated with a low score on the Independence from Symptoms scale and low Control, being simultaneously correlated with Autonomy and Self-Realisation. Emotion-Oriented Coping is associated with low psychological, physical and social well-being, as well as with little independence from the disease symptoms, little pleasure and self-realisation, but it gives a sense of internal control. Avoidance-Oriented Coping does not significantly correlate with any of the Overall Quality of Life dimensions. Conclusions : Women suffering from UI tend to try to solve their problem by means of cognitive transformation. In their situation, clinging to the problem turns out to be a depressing factor and entails a lower quality of their life

Knowledge of the Disease, Perceived Social Support, and Cognitive Appraisals in Women with Urinary Incontinence

Social support and knowledge of the disease have been shown to facilitate adaptation to a chronic disease. However, the adaptation process is not fully understood. We hypothesized that these factors can contribute to better adaptation to the disease through their impact on disease-related cognitive appraisal. To analyze the links between social support and the knowledge of the disease, on one hand, and disease-related appraisals, on the other hand, one hundred fifty-eight women with stress UI, aged 32 to 79, took part in the study. Questionnaire measures of knowledge of UI, social support, and disease-related appraisals were used in the study. The level of knowledge correlated significantly negatively with the appraisal of the disease as Harm. The global level of social support correlated significantly positively with three disease-related appraisals: Profit, Challenge, and Value. Four subgroups of patients with different constellations of social support and knowledge of the disease were identified in cluster analysis and were demonstrated to differ significantly on four disease-related appraisals: Profit, Challenge, Harm, and Value. Different cognitive appraisals of UI may be specifically related to social support and knowledge of the disease, with social support affective positive disease-related appraisals, and the knowledge affecting the appraisal of Harm