Matching intra-procedural information with coping style reduces psychophysiological arousal in women undergoing colposcopy

This study assessed the combined effects of coping style and intra-procedural information on indices of distress (physiological
measures, observed distress, self-report measures of anxiety and affect) among a group of patients undergoing colposcopy.
High and low monitors were exposed to one of three interventions: high information (live video feed of colposcopy); low information
(complete audiovisual distraction); and control. Results revealed a 2 (monitoring style) × 3 (information level) × 2 (time)
interaction for systolic blood pressure (SBP), F(2, 111) = 3.55, p = .032. Among low monitors, patients in the low-information group exhibited significant SBP reductions during colposcopy,
while those in the high-information group exhibited SBP increases. Among high monitors, patients in the high-information and
control groups exhibited SBP reductions. Further, significant differences in observed signs of distress were found between
groups with high monitors in the low-information group faring best overall, F(2, 111) = 4.41, p = .014. These findings indicate that tailoring information to suit individual coping style may maximize the apparent efficacy
of interventions aimed at reducing stress during medical examinations.