Coping competence as predictor and moderator of depression among chronic disease patients.

This tested the utility of the "Coping Competence Questionnaire" (CCQ) in predicting depression among chronic disease patients. Coping competence is defined as a dispositional stress resistance factor based on helplessness and hopelessness theory. Predictive power and buffering effects of the CCQ were tested in three patient samples scheduled for Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (N = 272), other heart surgeries (N = 109), or lung tumor surgery (N = 203). Coping competence, symptom stress, and depression were assessed before and 6-months following surgery. Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated moderator effects of coping competence in the relationship between symptom stress and depression, supporting the stress-buffer hypothesis. Symptom stress was strongly correlated with depression among patients who were low in coping competence only. Among patients high in coping competence, depression was low and unaffected by symptom stress. The results suggest that the 12-item coping competence scale may qualify as useful tool for the prediction of depression in chronic disease populations.