Psychological Adjustment to Breast Cancer

Breast cancer remains a highly prevalent and extraordinarily stressful experience for hundreds of thousands of women each year in the United States and around the world. Psychological research has provided a picture of the emotional and social impact of breast cancer on patients' lives, and of factors associated with better versus worse adjustment. Psychosocial interventions have been beneficial in decreasing patients' distress and enhancing their quality of life. Recent research also suggests that psychological factors may be related to potentially important biological disease-related processes. In addition to providing an understanding of the psychological factors in breast cancer, research in this area has provided a framework for research on adaptation to health-related stress in general.     

Religious Coping and Psychological Distress in Military Veteran Cancer Survivors

Research on the relationship between religious coping and psychological well-being in cancer survivors is limited. Forty-eight veteran cancer survivors completed measures of psychological distress, posttraumatic growth, and positive and negative religious coping. Negative religious coping was associated with greater distress and growth. Positive religious coping was associated with greater growth. Gender, race, and religious affiliation were significant predictors of positive and negative religious coping. Veteran cancer survivors who utilize negative religious coping may benefit from referral to clergy or a mental health professional. Assessment of religious coping may be particularly important for female, non-White, and Christian cancer survivors.     

The Role of Spirituality in the Lives of Mothers of Breast Cancer Survivors

Breast cancer impacts an entire family system. The mothers of breast cancer patients are likely impacted in a variety of ways by their daughters’ diagnoses. To date, few researchers have investigated the experiences and perspectives of this population. In the present study, the authors explored how mothers of breast cancer survivors managed adversities associated with this disease and illness. Using secondary data and narrative analysis, the investigators analyzed data gathered from 30 mothers. Findings indicate that participants relied on their spirituality for the management of stress and hardship related to having a loved one with breast cancer.     

Spirituality and the Current Adjustment of Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

We explore the role of spirituality in the current adjustment of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). A sample of 101 men and women survivors of CSA completed questionnaires on spirituality (relationship with God or higher power), person factors (blame attributions, self-acceptance, hope), and current adjustment (mood, personal growth, resolution of the abuse). Results indicated that relationship with a benevolent God or higher power is related to the experience of less negative mood and a greater sense of personal growth and resolution of the abuse. Also, relationship with a higher power is related to other person factors such as self-acceptance and hope. Relationship with a benevolent God appears to have an indirect link to depressive mood and resolution of abuse through the mediating pathways of hope and self-acceptance. In contrast, relationship with God appears to have a more direct association to the outcome of personal growth for these survivors .     

Spirituality,Distress and Posttraumatic Growth in Breast Cancer Patients

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer for women and is associated with increased distress. Spirituality and posttraumatic growth (PTG) have been associated with illness adjustment, but the relationship between these variables is still not well understood. A sample of 100 breast cancer patients completed a demographic and clinical questionnaire, the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, Spiritual and Religious Attitudes in Dealing with Illness, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Results showed an association between PTG, spirituality and distress. Women with a longer diagnosis and recurrence showed more distress. Younger age, recurrent cancer and spirituality predicted higher PTG. Patients’ spirituality should be part of intervention with breast cancer patients since it seems to be related to greater growth and adjustment to the illness.     

The Moderating Relationship of Spirituality on Negative Life Events and Psychological Adjustment

The authors used a path model to examine how spirituality moderates relationships between negative life experiences and psychological adjustment, operationalized for this study as levels of depression and anxiety. Results suggest that spirituality provides a significant moderating effect for both depression and anxiety. The moderating effect was stronger for depression than for anxiety.     

Religious Coping and Psychological and Behavioral Adjustment After Hurricane Katrina

Positive and negative religious coping are related to positive and negative psychological adjustment, respectively. The current study examined the relation between religious coping and PTSD, major depression, quality of life, and substance use among residents residing in Mississippi at the time of Hurricane Katrina. Results indicated that negative religious coping was positively associated with major depression and poorer quality of life and positive religious coping was negatively associated with PTSD, depression, poorer quality of life, and increased alcohol use. These results suggest that mental health providers should be mindful of the role of religious coping after traumatic events such as natural disasters.     

Integrating Religious Resources Within a General Model of Stress and Coping: Long-Term Adjustment to Breast Cancer

The purpose of the present cross-sectional study was to explore the role of religious resources in long-term adjustment to breast cancer. A sample of fifty-two survivors was assessed on indices of religious resources (e.g., image of God), nonreligious resources (e.g., cognitive appraisal) and emotional and spiritual well-being. Results indicated that both relationship with God/God image and religious coping behaviour were related to the nonreligious mediator variables of cognitive appraisal and coping in response to the current cancer situation. Various experiences of relationship with God (e.g., Presence) were related to more positive appraisals of the current cancer situation as well as to the greater use of the nonreligious coping behaviour of focusing on the positive. In contrast, religious coping behaviours demonstrated more complex associations with cognitive appraisal and nonreligious coping factors. The same coping behaviour, for example religious avoidance, could be related to both positive and negative appraisals of the cancer situation. Finally, religious resources, but not nonreligious resources predicted emotional and spiritual well-being for these long-term breast cancer survivors.     

The Role of Optimism,Social Constraints,Coping, and Cognitive Processing in Psychosocial Adjustment Among Breast Cancer Survivors

The social-cognitive processing model suggests that a socially constrained environment may impede adjustment to a chronic illness. The present study primarily investigated the mediating psychological pathways through which social constraints on cancer-related disclosure, low optimism, disengagement-oriented coping, and brooding could be associated with low levels of psychosocial adjustment. One hundred twenty-five female breast cancer survivors participated in a cross-sectional study. Path analysis was used to examine the proposed model. Low optimism, increased social constraints, and higher levels of brooding appeared to be risk factors for poor psychosocial adjustment to breast cancer. Disengagement-oriented coping and brooding partially mediated the relationship between social constraints and adjustment. Brooding totally mediated the relationship between disengagement-oriented coping and adjustment. The current findings provide support for the value of the social-cognitive processing model among breast cancer survivors. The mapping of psychological pathways of adjustment to breast cancer may have useful clinical implications for better adjustment outcomes.     

家庭支持对缓解乳腺癌患者心理压力的作用

本文分析了心理压力对乳腺癌患者的康复和生活质量产生的不利影响,指出家庭是与患者生存联系最为紧密的环境,家庭支持对缓解患者心理压力发挥了巨大作用;深入挖掘家庭支持与心理压力二者的关系,详细阐述了家庭支持用以缓解患者心理压力的三种形式,即情感支持、信息支持、行为支持;最后针对目前家庭支持仍存在患者满意度不高、家庭支持水平随时间而降低等主要问题,提出克服家庭支持的缺陷,提高家庭成员支持能力的合理化建议,即提高患者配偶和女性家属的支持能力、建立长期的家庭支持计划等.     

Personality Factors Associated With Psychological Distress in Testicular Cancer Survivors

The aim of this study was to investigate symptoms of anxiety and depression in testicular cancer survivors (TCSs) and to identify personality traits associated with psychological distress in these patients by means of the MMPI (Hathaway &; McKinley, 1943 Hathaway, S. R. and McKinley, J. C. 1943. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.  [Google Scholar]). A total of 50 TCSs and 50 age-adjusted healthy men participated in the study, and we used the following self-report instruments: Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale (Montgomery &; Asberg, 1979 Montgomery, S. and Åsberg, M. 1979. A new depression scale designed to be sensitive to change. British Journal of Psychiatry, 134: 382–389. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (Hamilton, 1959 Hamilton, M. 1959. The assessment of anxiety states by rating. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 32: 50–55. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 1969 Hamilton, M. 1969. Diagnosis and rating of anxiety. British Journal of Psychiatry, 3: 76–79.  [Google Scholar]), Spielberger's State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, 1970 Spielberger, C. D. 1970. “Anxiety as an emotional state”. In Anxiety: Current trends in theory and research, Edited by: Spielberger, C. New York: Academic.  [Google Scholar], 2005 Spielberger, C. D. 2005. State–Trait Anxiety Inventory for adults, Redwood City, CA: Mind Garden.  [Google Scholar]), and the MMPI. TCSs displayed higher rates on all psychopathology scales studied compared to controls, but the majority of the patients' scores were within the “normal range,” indicating rather mild psychological distress. TCSs' MMPI profiles showed higher rates on Scales 1, 3, 6, and 9 compared to controls; and within the TCSs sample, symptoms of depression were most closely associated with Scales 3 and 5. Similarly, anxiety symptoms were mainly associated with Scale 3. These findings indicate that TCSs present mild symptoms of psychological distress, mainly anxiety and depressive symptoms, suggesting that careful assessment and consultation in TC patients is essential to help them deal with distress after treatment and to minimize possible risk factors.     

Recollections of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Complexities of Religious Coping and Muslim Religious and Psychological Adjustment in Afghanistan

Journal of Religion and Health - Religious coping is a double-edged sword. Clarification of the psychological benefits for positive religious coping requires statistical controls for negative...     

Amanah and Muslim Identity: Relationships with Religious and Psychological Adjustment in Malaysia

Amanah refers to the accountability of Muslims to their community. In Malaysian Muslim university students (N = 209), an Amanah Scale predicted a stronger sense of identity along with more adaptive religious and psychosocial functioning. Multiple regression analyses identified Accountability to Society as especially influential, but Accountability to Allah exhibited at least some problematic implications. Amanah mediated Identity linkages with some measures of religious and psychological adjustment, but also suppressed Identity relationships with greater self-knowledge and lower anxiety. These data confirmed the importance of communal commitments in Muslim mental health, suggested that accountability may have limited liabilities as well as more obvious psychosocial advantages, and identified possible complexities in the assessment of Accountability to Allah.

     

Psychosocial Adjustment of Adult Cancer Survivors: Their Needs and Counselor Interventions

The author presents an overview of the literature on the psychosocial adjustment of cancer survivors, identifying 4 areas that may pose difficulties for cancer survivors as they learn to live with a life-threatening chronic illness: coping with the late physical effects of treatment; living with the uncertainty of long-term survival; resolving problems related to intimacy, marriage, and reproduction; and combating employment discrimination. Counseling interventions are proposed for counselors working with cancer survivors on these issues.     

Spirituality in African-American Breast Cancer Patients: Implications for Clinical and Psychosocial Care

Journal of Religion and Health - Spirituality has been shown to be important to many individuals dealing with a cancer diagnosis. While African-American breast cancer survivors have been reported...