although they denied such stressors on the role stress
questionnaire. This appears to be accounted for by the fact
that ‘taking care of one’s spouse’ was not a question on
this instrument and possibly should be included in future
studies.
Both male and female participants coped with their stress
by having a sense of trust (in their doctor and themselves),
maintaining an optimistic attitude, or through such activities
as making plans or obtaining information. Men tended to
make schedules to feel more in control and decrease their
uncertainty, or they coped by avoiding or ignoring the
problem, while women ignored the stress or found distracters
to cope.
Despite the small interview sample, our qualitative findings
appeared to offer support for the quantitative findings that,
despite their physical concerns, men still adapted better,