Background: Active social and spiritual support for persons with cancer and other serious illnesses has been shown to improve psychological adjustment to illness and quality of life. Objective: To evaluate a community-based support team intervention within the African American community using stakeholder interviews. Methods: Support team members…

Using data from two waves of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (N = 8,054), I examine gender differences in psychological adjustment to cancer among older white adults. Results from different types of longitudinal models reveal that cancer has more adverse psychological implications for men than women. Men's higher levels of depression are reduced…

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy affecting women worldwide. While it is true that hope influences how these victims view and live their lives, little is known as to how hope is lived and experienced by a breast cancer patient whose professional background and practice is nursing. This narrative-interpretive study purports to create a…

The authors evaluated mechanisms of change for a coping and communication-enhancing intervention (CCI) and supportive counseling (SC). They proposed that the effects of CCI on depressive symptoms would be mediated by psychological processes targeted by CCI, namely increases in the following: positive reappraisal, acceptance, planful problem…

Examined utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) as a longitudinal predictor of psychosocial adaptation to cancer. A post hoc discriminant analysis revealed that 75% of all patients could have been correctly classified into a high-distressed v a low-distressed cancer patient group using only the MMPI. (Author)

Anger has been shown to be an important factor in occupational maladjustment, family conflict, physical and sexual assault, criminal behavior, and substance abuse. It has also been linked with such adverse health outcomes as hypertension, heart disease, and cancer. Focusing on anger proneness, conceptualized as a relatively enduring propensity to…

Two studies examined breast cancer patients' perceptions of their partners' reactions to their diagnosis and treatment as influences on 3 aspects of patients' well-being: psychosexual adjustment, emotional distress, and marital satisfaction. Study 1, cross-sectional, indicated that partner initiation of sex, frequency of sex, a positive 1st sexual…

Much of the psycho-oncology research that has been conducted to date has focused on understanding the negative psychological and psychosocial sequelae of cancer. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that many cancer survivors report psychological growth following a diagnosis of cancer. Further, there are few studies that examine the…

Asserts that, in some situations, one of the most useful strategies for helping cancer patients to cope can be denial. Presents definitions of coping in general and denial in particular. Discusses potential positive functions of denial for cancer patients and provides an overview of potential negative consequences. Concludes with brief summary and…

According to The Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment, and Adaptation, certain family strengths can promote positive outcomes for children undergoing adverse or stressful circumstances. We proposed that chief among these potential strengths are high quality parent-child relationships. Data from self-report questionnaires from 190…

Two previously studied cohorts of women with nonmetastatic breast cancer (Ns = 230 and 136) were reexamined. Participants were assessed during the year after surgery and 5-8 years later. Associations were examined between benefit finding (BF) and several indicators of psychosocial adjustment (e.g., perceived quality of life, positive affect,…

Whereas aggressive multimodal therapies are responsible for improved survival rates of children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer, concern has grown regarding the potential for adverse and delayed developmental effects resulting from these treatments. In light of this concern, this study assessed 207 adult survivors of childhood cancer in…

Analyzed demographic, cancer, physical functioning and psychological data for late-stage cancer, newly admitted nursing home patients (n=90). Concluded that, compared to survivors, those who died within a three-month period more often acknowledged their condition as terminal, anticipated greater environmental stress and adjustment problems and had…

The past decade has seen a tremendous growth in the use of structural equation modeling (SEM) to address research questions in 2 subfields of behavioral science: cancer prevention and control (e.g., determinants of cancer screening adherence) and behavioral oncology (e.g., determinants of psychosocial adjustment among cancer patients or…

Relations of the components of cognitive adaptation theory (self-esteem, optimism, control) to quality of life and benefit finding were examined for 70 women (91% Caucasian) diagnosed with Stage I, II, or III breast cancer over 5 years ago. Half of these women experienced a recurrence within the 5 years; the other half remained disease free. Women…