Psychosocial adjustment in patients reporting cardiac illness

This study tests an integrative cross-sectional model of psychosocial adjustment in a late middle-aged sample of patients reporting diagnoses of cardiac illness. Findings based on 362 individuals diagnosed with chronic cardiac illness and 390 healthy controls strongly supported hypotheses. Individuals with chronic cardiac illness scored significantly higher than did than did persons free of illness on both Depressed Mood and Depressive Features. In addition, women experienced more Depressed Mood and Depressive Features than did men. An integrative structural equation model demonstrated that, for both men and women with chronic cardiac illness, social support and adaptive coping strategies were related to less depressive symptoms. Social support predicted less depressive symptoms both directly and indirectly through coping strategies.