Coping strategies used by seniors going through the normal aging process: does fear of falling matter?

Recent studies show that fear of falling, a frequent fear of community-dwelling seniors, can have a negative impact on their health and quality of life. When fear of falling is intense, it can prompt individuals to limit or avoid certain activities. This activity restriction can lead to premature physical and functional decline and, ultimately, increase the risk for falls. Although activity avoidance/restriction is a common strategy used by seniors to cope with fear of falling, they may use other strategies as well to cope with this fear. However, these other strategies have received little attention to date.

This study aimed at examining and comparing coping strategies used by seniors with and without fear of falling. It also examined if fear of falling is an independent correlate of the use of coping strategies among seniors.

288 seniors aged 65 years or over and going through the normal aging process were assessed during structured home interviews. Fear of falling was assessed through a single question (Are you afraid of falling?) and a 4-category response scale (never, occasionally, often, very often). Coping strategies used by participants were assessed with the Inventory of Coping Strategies Used by the Elderly.

Findings show that seniors with fear of falling use several coping strategies other than activity avoidance/restriction in their daily functioning. Compared with nonfearful seniors, they tend to use a wider range of coping strategies and use them more frequently. Results also indicate that fear of falling is an independent correlate of diversity and frequency of use of behavioral coping strategies.

This study suggests that fall prevention practitioners and researchers should document the range and frequency of use of strategies that seniors may employ to cope with fear of falling. These data could help improve interventions and evaluative research in the domain of fall prevention.