Do allogeneic bone marrow transplant candidates match coping to controllability of pre-treatment stressors?
According to the Person x Situation theoretical framework, people adjust their coping to address the unique challenges of encountered stressors. Whether their strategies fit or appropriately address these stressor challenges influences adjustment. We examined the fit between pre-treatment stressors reported by hematological cancer patients awaiting allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (alloBMT) and their coping responses. Stressors were categorized as controllable versus uncontrollable; coping responses were categorized as problem- versus emotion-focused versus mixed (i.e., elements of both coping types). We hypothesized that patients would employ coping responses that fit the controllability of stressors (i.e., a match between stressor and coping response): problem-focused coping for controllable stressors and emotion-focused coping for uncontrollable stressors. In qualitative interviews, pre-BMT patients (10 men, 7 women) described encountered stressors and how they coped with them