"Avoidant coping as predictor of mortality in veterans with end-stage renal disease": Response to Jewett, Newton, Smith, & Thombs (2010).

Responds to the comments by L. R. Jewett, E. G. Newton, S. Smith, and B. D. Thombs (see record 2010-14873-001) on the current authors' original article, "Avoidant coping as predictor of mortality in veterans with end-stage renal disease" (see record 2009-06704-009). In their commentary, Jewett et al note that oddities often encountered in very small datasets—such as the one used by Wolf and Mori—and, as a result, stronger evidence must be accrued from larger, more robust samples. In this response, Jewett et al acknowledge that theirs is a preliminary study of a small and highly select sample and recognize the limited generalizability of our results. Jewett et al maintain that they do not assert that there should be radical changes in clinical or research programs based on their study results, but instead, suggest that further follow-up would be valuable and that readily available and commonly used assessment and intervention procedures may be appropriate in ameliorating avoidant coping in the endstage renal disease (ESRD) population. At the same time, given the focus on mortality, the risk of doing nothing because the evidence is preliminary far outweighs the minimal costs associated with assessing and addressing avoidant coping, particularly since psychological assessment, including of coping behavior, is part of the standard of practice in this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)