Coping and psychological well-being in informal carers of stroke survivors with aphasia

Abstract

This dissertation considers coping and psychological well-being in informal carers of stroke survivors with aphasia. Firstly, a literature review examines the main problemsreported by this group of carers, the coping strategies they use to manage these problems, and the links between coping and psychological well-being. This is followedby an empirical paper which reports on a study investigating how informal carers of stroke survivors with aphasia cope with communication problems, and examining thelinks between coping and an aspect of psychological well-being - depressive symptoms. Further, this study also explores the question of how best to measure how carers cope with communication problems, by including questions specifically developed for this topic alongside a traditional coping inventory. As expected, the results demonstrated a relationship between coping strategies and depressive symptoms in this group of carers. The use of avoidant coping strategies was associated with increased symptoms of depression. No links were found between problem-focused coping strategies and depressive symptoms, however it was shown that coping by ‘positive reframing’ was linked with reduced levels of depressive symptoms. The study also found that a traditional style coping inventory gives a useful assessment of the pertinent coping strategies used by informal carers of stroke survivors with aphasia to manage communication problems. However this is usefully supplemented by more specific questioning about the use of avoidance and withdrawal. The study concludes with a discussion of the clinical implications of the results and where future research in this area would be beneficially directed