Optimism, pessimism and self-efficacy in female cancer patients

The aim of this examination was to study whether psychological resource variables (optimism and self-efficacy) decrease when cancer is present and to test the predictive power of these variables for anxiety, depression and quality of life (QoL).

The patient sample was comprised of 354 German women suffering from breast cancer or gynecological cancer. Participants filled in the resource assessment tools Life Orientation Test-Revised and the General Self-Efficacy Scale as well as the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 and the QoL instrument EORTC QLQ-C30 at two time points: (t1) during patients' hospital stay and (t2) 3 months later.

The mean scores for optimism (total score: M = 16.2) and self-efficacy (M = 29.8) were even somewhat higher than the corresponding means of the general population. Optimism and self-efficacy were positively correlated with QoL (r between 0.15 and 0.17, P < 0.01) and negatively associated with anxiety and depression (r between -0.17 and -0.36, P < 0.01). However, only optimism was predictive of the t2 anxiety, depression and QoL scores when statistically taking into account the baseline levels of the outcome variables.

Having cancer does not generally reduce optimism and self-efficacy on the level of patients' mean scores. Cancer patients with a high level of habitual optimism will adapt to their disease better than pessimistic patients, even if the baseline levels of the outcome variables have been accounted for.