Relationship between coping and subjective well-being of elderly from the interior of the Brazilian Northeast

The objective of this study was to verify how the coping strategies, applied to health problems of the elderly, are related to the levels of Subjective Well-Being (SWB) in a cluster sample of 381 elderly people with an average age of 71.50 years (SD = 8.0), mostly female (73.4 %). The following instruments were used: Mini-Mental State Examination, Problem Coping Mode Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and demographic issues. The results indicated that, among all the coping strategies, the most used were the Religious Practices. The Focus on Problem explained positively and the Focus on Emotion explained negatively the SWB. Therefore, focus on the problem contributes positively to the psychosocial adaptation of the elderly to health problems.