Coping strategies in patients with schizophrenia and concomitant chronic cardiovascular diseases

In the context of modern socio-economic conditions, coping strategies reflecting adaptive capacity to stress are realized through the environment and personally determined mechanisms of behavior (coping mechanisms). Due to the high lability of disease processes and social vulnerability in general, schizophrenia patients are more subject to stress. Cardiovascular diseases, often observed in patients with schizophrenia, contribute to the progression of their social disintegration and decrease the level of adaptive skills. The aim of the study was to establish coping strategies in schizophrenia patients with concomitant cardiovascular diseases. 70 patients diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, who were on inpatient treatment in psychiatric departments № 1 and № 5 of the State Institution «Lugansk Republican Clinical Psychoneurological Hospital» of the Lugansk People»s Republic, participated in the study. All subjects of the study were divided into two study groups: group 1 — schizophrenia patients without cardiovascular pathology (n=40) and group 2 — patients with schizophrenia and cardiovascular pathology (n=30). The mean age of the patients was 46.5±5.9 years, with 27 (38.6 %) men and 43 (61.4 %) women. Clinical, psychopathological, catamnestic, psychometric, and statistical research methods were used. The study revealed that the greatest number of patients had a non-constructive coping mechanism for dealing with stressful conditions, with a small number of patients with a constructive type. When comparing the percentages of patients with and without cardiovascular disease, it was found that patients with cardiovascular pathology were superior in positive coping strategies. These studies confirm the significance of cardiovascular diseases in schizophrenia patients in the processes of maladaptation in changing life conditions.