The coping skills and quality of life among rape survivors – A descriptive study from Kerala

BACKGROUND: Rape is one of the most heinous of acts. It constitutes a major violation of an individual’s basic rights and intensely impacts their mental and physical health. Coping skills used to deal with the trauma could provide information on their quality of life (QOL). OBJECTIVES: To assess the coping skills and QOL of rape survivors and to explore its association with their coping skills. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were collected through a questionnaire, and coping skills were assessed using the Brief COPE scale and QOL using the World Health Organization quality of life questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF). Results were analyzed using the Kruskal–Wallis H test and Spearman rank correlation. RESULTS: Adaptive coping skills such as use of instrumental support, active coping, use of emotional support, self-distraction, and acceptance had higher COPE mean scores. QOL in the domain of physical health (mean = 52.71) had the highest mean score, followed by the domains of environment (mean = 51.35) and psychological health (mean = 48.37). Use of coping skills like active coping, use of emotional support, use of instrumental support, positive reframing, and acceptance had a significant positive correlation with the QOL in the domains of physical health and environment. Active coping and positive reframing were positively correlated with the QOL in the domain of psychological health, while positive reframing and humor were positively correlated with the social relationships domain. CONCLUSION: Those who employed adaptive coping skills (active coping, use of emotional support, use of instrumental support, positive reframing, acceptance) showed significantly better QOL than those with maladaptive skills.