The Relationship Between Anxiety, Coping Strategies and Characteristics of Patients with Hypertension

Objective:The aim of this study was to explore and define the trait anxiety levels of hypertension patients, their coping strategies, socio-demographic characteristics, and the relationship between anxiety and coping strategies. Materials and Methods: In the study, 20-item Trait Anxiety Scale (STAI TX-2) was used to measure the level of anxiety and a 28-item Brief Cope which scale developed by Carver et al. (1989) was used to measure coping strategies. Results:The sample of the study consisted of 147 people diagnosed with hypertension who were treated in Ankara D？？kap？ Y？ld？r？m Beyaz？t Training and Research Hospital. The mean age was 61.16 (SD = 10.52), with a range from 34 to 89 years. The majority of the participants were female (57.1%). In the research, 95.9% of the participants (n = 141) exceeded the 42 points with trait anxiety threshold. Acceptance and religion, were the most frequently used problem-focused coping strategies. On the other side, self-distraction and self-blame were the most frequently used emotion-focused coping strategies. Conclusion:Significant correlations were found between socio-demographic and health characteristics, anxiety and coping strategies. The findings point to the importance of considering individual coping strategies when evaluating the impact of hypertension on psychosocial well-being