[Problems of female cancer patients and their coping behavior]

A questionnaire was developed with the aim of gathering basic information relevant to the psychosocial aftercare of cancer patients. The questionnaire deals with concrete everyday problems of breast and genital cancer patients, it allowed moreover an analysis of situation-specific coping strategies. The sample consists of 480 breast and genital cancer patients from various aftercare institutions. The results show a wide distribution of problems in many life situations. The most common problems were specific forms of anxiety, clinical symptoms and household problems. On the other hand, certain problems were identified which, although less common, proved to be extremely stressful for the affected patients. The analysis of different subgroups points to the large relative importance of sociodemographic and aftercare factors in the individual stress profile. With respect to coping behavior, the results show that neither personality-oriented nor situation-specific concepts alone provide an adequate approach. Coping strategies are not general but rather tied in specific ways to personality traits and to the form or degree of the problems.