[Coping with the illness by patients with chronic polyarthritis. Forms of coping and therapeutic implications]

In rheumatoid arthritis, coping exerts a major influence on the feelings and the compliance of a patient. This signifies its great clinical relevance. This study presents data of 40 patients using a questionnaire for assessing their ways of coping. The main coping strategies proved to be the search for more information and ways to get cognitive control over the threat imposed by the disease. The individual strategies were not influenced by somatic parameters. Unexpectedly, the duration of disease was tightly correlated to a more intensive approach for gaining information. The results have a major influence on the way of treating patients with RA. They open up new therapeutical regimens for the patient/doctor relationship, including patient oriented seminars and various psychological therapies.