Optimism and Coping Styles: A Comparison of Candidates for Liver Transplantation with Candidates for Lung Transplantation

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Abstract
Background: Dispositional optimism and adaptive coping styles have been shown to correlate with each other and with physical and psychological well-being in a number of studies with medical patients. Few studies in the transplant literature evaluate psychological characteristics of patients across medical diagnoses. A comparison of optimism and coping styles among candidates for liver and lung transplantation is presented. Method: Subjects were 73 candidates for lung transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and 76 candidates for liver transplantation at the Pittsburgh VA Healthcare System. All candidates were classified according to medical diagnosis and history of substance abuse (alcohol/drugs or smoking). There were no significant between- or within-group differences on optimism. Results: There was a significant difference within both groups, according to history of substance abuse on the coping style ‘acceptance’. There were also significant between-group differences on a number of coping styles. Conclusions: This preliminary study is intended to suggest direction for future research; studying psychological variables known to impact on health apart from medical diagnosis may provide data pertinent to selection criteria and the design of interventions to more effectively maximize the benefit of transplantation for all concerned.