The Prediction Model of Adaptation in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis - Propositional Synthesis of Roy's and Lazarus & Folkman's Theory -

류마티스 관절염 환자의 적응 예측모형 -Roy이론과 Lazarus 및 Folkman 이론의 명제 합성-

The lack of a comprehensive theory describing the mechanism of adaptation scientifically has been one of the limiting factors for the development of nursing intervention of patients with chronic illness. Since Roy's theory provides the general conceptual framework depicting adaptation process with structural stimuli and control mechanism, it is appropriate to understand the process of adaptation. But in Roy's theory, the propositions about cognator and regulator as control mechanisms are not clearly defined. For this reason, most of the previous researches applying the Roy's theory have disregarded the study of cognator and regulator. For the patients with chronic illness such as rheumatoid arthritis, it was reported that adaptation states were different for the same stimuli due to the difference of the control mechanism. Moreover in nursing it is important to identify the control mechanism which can be and must be intervened by nurses. It was the Lazarus and Folkman's theory that proposed the control mechanism. They suggested that individual differences in the reaction against the perceived stress are due to the difference in appraisal and coping. Therefore, the synthesis of Roy's and Lazarus and Folkman's propositions might help to clearly understand the mechanism of adaptation. From this point, a theoretical framework has been developed and tested. The subjects were the 297 patients who had been diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis and attended the outpatient clinic. A hypothetical prediction model of adaptation was tested by the covariance structure analysis with PC-LISREL 7.13. As a result, the overall fit was good($x^2$=78.83, p=0.00 ; GFI=0.96 : AGFI=0.90 ; RMR=0.04) for the hypothetical model. In the final model added GA(5, 1), the overall fit was increased ($x^2$=57.82, p=0.003 ; GFI=0.97 ; AGFI=0.93 : RMR=0.036). Except the fact that illness symptoms affected physical adaptation directly, it was supported that focal and contextual stimuli affected physical and psychosocial adaptation through appraisal and coping. Therefore, it was asserted that the synthesis of two theory's propositions was appropriate. So this model would be useful for the theoretical framework in the nursing practice. And this study synthesizing and testing the theory might contribute to establish nursing's scientific base.