[Coping with illness as conforming to technological rules: an analysis of coping behavior of schizophrenic patients]

Coping can be conceptualized in terms of conformity with certain rules describing the relation between appraisals (here: control-ability and variability of stressors) and coping behaviour (here: problem-oriented, non-problem-oriented). The goal of the study is to examine the relevance of this approach for the analysis of schizophrenic patients' coping with their disease. This was done with the help of a reanalysis of data from a previous study. Subjects were 40 patients, which could be grouped in three clusters: high symptom strain, low symptom strain, specific strain (prodromal). Results showed that patients with low strain had a higher level of rule-conformity. Also, subjects with high rule conformity had a higher level of well-being, better prognosis and a higher level of professional education.