The Predicting role of worry, anger rumination and social loneliness in adjustment to coronary artery disease

Aim. The purpose of the present study was to examine the predicting role of worry, anger rumination and social loneliness in to coronary artery disease.
Background. Adjustment to heart disease, as an stressful experience, is a difficult process and involves the patient in serious issues.
Method. A total of 327 people with coronary artery disease (138 women, 189 men) participated in this descriptive correlational study. Participants were asked to complete the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), Anger Rumination Scale (ARS), Social Loneliness Scale (SLS), and Adjustment to Illness Scale (AIS). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and stepwise regression.
Findings. Worry, anger rumination and social loneliness was found to have a statistically significant and negative correlation with adjustment to coronary artery disease; that is, with an increase in worry, anger rumination and social loneliness, the level of adjustment to coronary artery disease is reduced. According to Regression analysis, of the three analyzed variables, worry and social loneliness were predictors of adjustment to coronary artery disease, so that worry and worry with social loneliness predicted 35 and 41 percent of the variance of adjustment to coronary artery disease, respectively (p<0.01) .
Conclusion. Taking worry and social loneliness into consideration when planning preventive programs is a necessity. At an interventional level, together with the routine medical treatments, psychological interventions for worry and social loneliness has a great necessity as well