Social support, coping and subjective well-being in patients with rheumatic diseases

The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to examine the relationship between social support, coping, and subjective well-being by testing three hypotheses: (1) social support influences subjective well-being via coping; (2) coping influences subjective well-being via social support; (3) there is a reciprocal relationship between social support and coping, and both concepts influence subjective well-being. Data were analyzed from 628 patients with one or more chronic rheumatic disorder(s) affecting the joints, in some patients combined with another rheumatic disease (no fibromyalgia). Although causal inferences are not possible, the results present a plausible causal sequence in supporting the second hypothesis. This is only true, however, for coping by awaiting/avoidance: coping by awaiting/avoidance led to less social support and this decrease in social support influenced subjective well-being negatively.