Anxiety disorders are reported to be common but poorly understood poststroke phenomena. The relationships between symptoms of anxiety, coping activity, and stage of recovery were investigated in 44 subjects who had suffered strokes (mean age 68.6 years). Consistent with general models of anxiety disorders, anxiety was associated with more frequent use of avoidant coping strategies. No significant relationship was found between time poststroke and self-reported distress.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ÅstromM. (1996) Generalized Anxiety Disorder in stroke patients: a 3-year longitudinal study. Stroke, 27, 270–275.
2.
BamfordJ. (1986) The classification and natural history of acute cerebrovascular disease. Unpublished M.D. thesis, Univer. of Manchester, UK.
3.
CastilloC. S.StarksteinS. E.FedoroffJ. P.PriceT. R.RobinsonR. G. (1993) Generalized anxiety disorder after stroke, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 181, 100–106.
4.
DaveyG. C. L.BurgessI.RashesR. (1995) Coping strategies and phobias: the relationship between fears, phobias and methods of coping with stressors. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 34, 423–434.
5.
De RidderD.SchreursK. (1996) Coping, social support and chronic disease: a research agenda. Psychology, Health and Medicine, 1, 71–82.
6.
FolkmanS.LazarusR. S.GruenR. J.De loncisA. (1986) Appraisal, coping, health status and psychological symptoms, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 571–579.
7.
HolahanC. J.MoosR. H. (1986) Personality, coping and family resources in stress resistance: a longitudinal analysis, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 389–395.
8.
HouseA. (1987) Mood disorders after stroke: a review of the evidence. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2, 211–221.
9.
HouseA.DennisM.MogridgeL.WarlowC.HawtonK.JonesL. (1991) Mood disorders in the year after first stroke. British Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 83–92.
10.
JohnsonG. A. (1991) Research into psychiatric disorder after stroke: the need for further studies. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 25, 358–370.
11.
MacCarthyB.BrownR. (1989) Psychosocial factors in Parkinson's disease. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 28, 41–52.
12.
MahoneyF. I.BarthelD. W. (1965) Functional evaluation: the Barthel Index. Maryland State Medical Journal, 14, 61–65.
13.
MorrisP. L. P.RobinsonR. G.RaphaelB. (1990) Prevalence and course of depressive disorders in hospitalized stroke patients. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 20, 349–364.
14.
MowrerO. H. (1939) A stimulus-response analysis of anxiety and its role as a reinforcing agent. Psychological Review, 46, 553–565.
15.
RachmanS. (1984) Anxiety disorders: some emerging theories. Journal of Behavioral Assessment, 6, 281–299.
16.
SharpeM.HawtonK.HouseA.MolyneuxA.SandercockP.BamfordJ.WarlowC. (1990) Mood disorders in long-term survivors of stroke: associations with brain lesion location and volume. Psychological Medicine, 20, 815–828.
17.
StarksteinS. E.RobinsonR. G. (1989) Affective disorders and cerebral vascular disease. British Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 170–182.
18.
WadeD. T.HewerR. L. (1987) Functional abilities after stroke: measurement, natural history and prognosis. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 50, 177–182.
19.
WilliamsA. M. (1992) Self-report of indifference and anxiety among persons with right hemisphere stroke. Research in Nursing and Health, 15, 343–347.
20.
World Health Organisation. (1978) Cerebrovascular disease: a clinical and research classification. Geneva: World Health Organisation.
21.
ZigmondA. S.SnaithR. P. (1983) The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 67, 361–370.
