Cardiac-specific experiential avoidance predicts change in general psychological well-being among patients completing cardiac rehabilitation

Appl Psychol Health Well Being. 2021 Nov;13(4):715-727. doi: 10.1111/aphw.12260. Epub 2021 Apr 3.

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that experiential avoidance (EA) is associated with physical and psychological well-being in medical and non-medical samples. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the reciprocal association between psychological well-being and EA over time among cardiac rehabilitation (CR) patients with moderately to severely low levels of psychological well-being. Pre-CR data on demographic characteristics, measures of psychological well-being, and cardiac-specific EA were collected from 915 CR patients, as well as post-CR psychological well-being and EA data, from 800 of these patients. A cross-lagged model was estimated to examine the relationship between EA and psychological well-being among patients with moderately to severely low levels of psychological well-being based on questionnaire scores. Both EA and psychological well-being significantly changed during CR and were negatively associated with each other at both pre- and post-CR. Results from cross-lagged structural equation modeling supported a nonreciprocal association between EA and psychological well-being during CR. Pre-CR assessment of EA in patients showing low levels of well-being at the beginning of CR could help to identify patients at risk for worse psychological outcomes. EA could be a promising target of psychological treatments administered during CR.

Keywords: cardiac rehabilitation; cross-lagged; experiential avoidance; psychological well-being.

MeSH terms

  • Cardiac Rehabilitation*
  • Humans
  • Surveys and Questionnaires