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Coping strategies and psychological distress in patients with advanced cancer
1School of Health Sciences, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. azabaleg@csc.unica.edu
Purpose/Objectives:
To examine the relationship between coping mechanisms and psychological distress in patients with advanced cancer receiving chemotherapy.
Design:
Descriptive, correlational study.
Setting:
Private and public hospitals in New York, NY.
Sample:
132 patients, ages 33-83, with advanced breast, ovarian, lung, colorectal, or other cancers.
Methods:
Mail survey using the Ways of Coping Inventory-Cancer Version and the Profile of Mood States.
Main Research Variables:
Coping strategies, psychological distress.
Findings:
The coping strategies distancing, cognitive escape-avoidance, and behavioral escape-avoidance were related to psychological distress. Distancing was negatively related (r = -0.25) and cognitive escape-avoidance (r = 0.38) and behavioral escape-avoidance (r = 0.38) were positively related to psychological distress (p < 0.01). Collectively, the coping strategies explained 36% of the variance of psychological distress. The most important coping mechanism contributing to overall psychological distress was behavioral escape-avoidance, followed by cognitive escape-avoidance.
Conclusions:
Low levels of psychological distress were associated with low levels of cognitive and behavioral escape-avoidance and high levels of distancing.
Implications For Nursing Practice:
Nursing interventions that reduce cognitive and behavioral escape-avoidance and enhance distancing should be tested, through further research, in relation to their ability to decrease psychological distress in patients with advanced cancer.