STRESS AND LEISURE COPING FOR WOMEN WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Abstract

The problem of this study was to explore the interactive role of leisure activities in the process of coping with stress of adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Under the framework of naturalistic paradigm, the interview method was used to collect the rich, descriptive data. Fourteen (14) participants with RA were recruited. With the open-ended questions, participants were asked to describe their disease history as well as their corresponding leisure history. Data analysis was guided by using the constant comparative method proposed by Glaser and Strauss who developed grounded theory in 1967. The findings of this study showed that RA had impacted the life of these participants in almost every aspect of their lives and caused a great level of illness-related stress. The findings showed that RA has both positive and negative impacts on leisure. Meanwhile, in the process of coping with stress from RA, leisure played an important role. The participants reported that the leisure activities they engaged in were fun and enjoyable, which helped them relax and release stress. The results showed that leisure could be used as a means to release stress through escaping, expressing negative emotions, relaxing, enhancing mood, mind-off, and being with friends and other people. In conclusion, while the negative impact of RA on the participants is dramatic and stressful, the positive growth from fighting with RA has been identified. Although most of the participants with RA experienced a reduced leisure satisfaction and increased participation in passive leisure activities, leisure facilitates enjoyable and relaxing experiences that provide the opportunity for positive reappraisal of stressful circumstances to reduce the perceived stress from negative life events. Therefore, leisure buffers against stress through facilitating positive reappraisal of the higher level of stress.