Distress, Dependency, and Threat in Newly Diagnosed Cancer and Heart Disease Patients

The effects of life-threatening illness on 56 lung cancer and 65 heart attack patients at one and two months postdiagnosis were assessed with objective self-report inventories measuring symptom distress, social dependency, concerns, mood, personality, and evaluation of problem management. Lung cancer patients had more symptom distress and concerns, and evaluated themselves more harshly, than heart attack patients. Although symptom distress remained unchanged, both kinds of patients reported significant improvement in mood and concerns by the second month postdiagnosis; this improvement was interpreted as a result of assimilating the life-threatening aspects of these diseases. Structural equation models of individual differences suggested that, even though the two groups were characterized by mean differences, the causal processes within the two groups were similar, with symptom distress the most pervasive and powerful influence. The importance of conducting both individual differences and group differences analyses was stressed.