and from several community senior centers.
Informed consents were obtained, and the study
was approved by the appropriate institutional re-
view board. The mean age of this sample was 74,
with a range from 64 to 94. Forty-five percent of the
sample were men, and 55 percent were women.
Major Variables
Coping and adaptation processing referred to cogni-
tive and emotional efforts made by individuals to
cope with hearing loss. These efforts were opera-
tionalized by the Coping and Adaptation Processing
Scale (form for elders) (Roy & Kazanowski, in
press).Self-consistencywas defined as an organized
set of congruent self-perceptions, including stabil-
ity of self-concept, self-esteem, private conscious-
ness, and social anxiety. It was operationalized by
the Self-Consistency Scale (Zhan & Shen, 1994).
Data Collection and Analysis
Data were collected through mailed and hand-
delivered survey questionnaires; for the entire study,
these included the Coping and Adaptation Pro-
cessing Scale (CAPS) (Roy & Kazanowski, in press),
the Self-Consistency Scale (SCS), the Geriatric
Depression Scale (Sheikh & Yesavage, 1986), the
Visual Analog Scale, the Demographic Profile, and
the Health Status Questionnaire (SF–36) (Inter-
Study Outcome Management System, 1991).
Findings
The research hypothesis examined whether a
positive relationship existed between coping and
adaptation processing and self-consistency. This
relationship was tested via Pearson’s product mo-
ment correlation on the total scores of the CAPS
and the SCS, resulting in a positive, moderately
strong correlation of .65,p .01. The research
hypothesis was supported. To describe the effect
of coping and adaptation processing on self-
consistency, a liner regression equation using the
least square criterion was supported. To describe
the effect of coping and adaptation processing on
self-consistency, a liner regression equation using
the least square criterion was performed. The result
ofR 2 .48 indicated that coping and adaptation
processing accounted for 48 percent of the variance
in self-consistency, suggesting that the coping and
adaptation processing may be a significant predic-
tor for self-consistency.
Empirical evidence of this study supports the
generic proposition of the Roy Adaptation Model
that the adequacy of cognator and regulator
processes affects adaptive responses (Roy &
Andrews, 1999, p. 547). Further, the following an-
cillary proposition is derived: Patterns of unique
cognator processing identified in a given patient
group are related to effective adaptation. In partic-
ular, a practice proposition derived for elderly per-
sons with hearing impairment states that the
coping and adaptation processes of self-perception,
clear focus and method, and knowing awareness
are related to the maintenance of self-consistency.
The Roy Adaptation Model provides a useful
framework for research inquiry. The theoretical
and empirical study of coping and adaptation pro-
cessing continues to develop. The processes used to
maintain self-consistency may be highly variable.
Specific coping processes may be functionally over-
lapping. Understanding coping and adaptation
processes, though often challenging, can help
nurses in their efforts to restore hope for patients in
sometimes hopeless situations and to help them
find new meaning in their lives, to empower them-
selves, and to promote their well-being.Model in Practice
Because in this sample, coping and adaptation pro-
cessing explained 48 percent of the variances in
self-consistency, it is suggested that coping and
adaptation processing plays an active role in keep-
ing one’s self-system in balance in the face of phys-
ical changes such as hearing loss. Further, coping
processes of clear focus and method, knowing
awareness, and self-perception contributed most to
the maintenance of self-consistency in this sample.Understanding these coping processes
can help nurses to promote individuals’
coping and adaptation processing in the
context of health and illness, particularly
with elderly patients.Understanding these coping processes can help
nurses to promote individuals’ coping and adapta-
tion processing in the context of health and illness,
particularly with elderly patients.
Coping processes of clear focus and method hasCHAPTER 17 Sister Callista Roy’s Adaptation Model and Its Applications 277