Burned adolescents' descriptions of their coping strategies

In an effort to describe adolescents' coping strategies after burns, eight postburn adolescents were interviewed. Their physical changes and their self-described behaviors and responses to changes in appearance, function, and potential are delineated. With the use of Lazarus' coping paradigm, mechanisms described by subjects were classified as problem focused or emotion focused. Comparison is made with coping mechanisms previously identified in adults. Subjects' problem-focused adjustments included the institution of comfort and therapeutic measures, the resumption of preburn style of dress, varied verbal responses to questioning and staring, the redirection of career goals, and adjustments to phobic neurosis. Emotion-focused adjustments included anger, acceptance of limitations, anticipation of ridicule or rejection, decreased focus on physical changes, a sense of loss, boredom with burns and their sequelae, and various defenses such as rationalization, denial, intellectualization, and humor. Identification of specific physical changes and responses permits the nurse to plan interventions and to provide anticipatory guidance accordingly.