Coping strategies in patients with brain neoplasms: clinical psychological differences and adaptive potential

Coping behavior is an important component of psychological adaptation in patients with brain neoplasms, whose illness may involve neurological deficits, cognitive impairment, prognostic uncertainty, and threats to autonomy and personal identity. However, evidence on coping patterns across different types of brain tumors and their relationships with quality of life, affective state, and post-traumatic growth remains limited.

To examine the characteristics of coping behavior in patients with brain neoplasms and to assess the associations between specific coping strategies and quality of life, affective state, and post-traumatic growth.

The study included 102 patients with brain neoplasms treated in neurosurgical departments in the Republic of Uzbekistan (Mage = 42.5, SD = 15.35; 52 women and 50 men). Patients were divided into three groups according to the histological type of neoplasm: meningiomas (n = 34), glioneuronal tumors (n = 35), and other neoplasms (n = 33). Coping behavior was assessed using the brief version of the COPE-30 questionnaire and an additional Meaning-Focused Coping Scale. Quality of life was assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire and its brain cancer-specific module, QLQ-BN20. Anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and post-traumatic growth was assessed using the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI).

Active coping was the most frequently used strategy in the overall sample, whereas mental disengagement was the least frequently used. Patients with meningiomas more frequently reported active coping, planning, and meaning-focused coping, whereas religious coping and humor were relatively more common among patients with glioneuronal tumors. Meaning-focused coping was positively associated with post-traumatic growth, satisfaction with health, and emotional functioning, and negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Its association with anxiety was not statistically significant.

The findings suggest that coping behavior represents an important component of the subjective experience of illness in patients with brain tumors. In the present study, the greatest adaptive potential was observed for coping strategies involving active patient engagement in managing the illness and reappraising its personal meaning.

Assessment of coping strategies in patients with brain neoplasms may have clinical relevance for psychological support and could inform the development of differentiated psychosocial intervention programs.