Coping strategies of panic and control subjects undergoing lactate infusion during magnetic resonance imaging...

The psychological reactions and coping strategies used in response to a behavioral contingency (confinement in a magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] scanner) during a biological challenge (sodium lactate infusion) were systematically studied in 13 subjects with panic disorder (PD) and 11 control subjects using the Claustrophobia Questionnaire (CQ) and the Revised Ways of Coping Checklist (RWCCL). All participants were able to successfully complete the experimental procedure. Findings suggest between-group coping strategy differences in response to general stressors, but relative convergence of coping strategies in response to the experimental procedure, with relatively greater emphasis on problem-focused coping approaches. These observations suggest that PD patients are able to engage in effective coping strategies in response to stressful but highly structured experimental situations. An overall pre-post MR scanning reduction in the fear of restriction but not suffocation was observed for the combined sample, primarily reflecting changes in the control group. Among PD subjects, higher levels of suffocation fears were maintained despite emergence of more problem-focused coping in the experimental situation.