A meta-analytic review of the relationship of cancer coping self-efficacy with distress and quality of life

Abstract

Self-efficacy for coping with cancer is a specific construct that refers to behaviors that occur in the course of dealing with a cancer diagnosis, cancer treatments, and transitioning to survivorship. One of the more widely used measures of self-efficacy for coping strategies with cancer is the Cancer Behavior Inventory. The following general questions provide a framework for this research: 1. Is self-efficacy for coping with cancer related to distress and quality of life of a cancer patient?. 2. Do self-efficacy for coping with cancer and the target psychological outcomes (i.e., distress and quality of life) change in longitudinal studies, with or without intervention? One-hundred eighty studies cited the different versions of the Cancer Behavior Inventory and 47 used the scale. Result showed an inverse relationship between self-efficacy for coping with cancer and distress, and a positive relationship between self-efficacy for coping with cancer and Quality of Life, both with a large effect size. The strong relationship of self-efficacy and outcomes, resulted of the specificity of the instrument, which targets specific coping strategies that are closely aligned with positive outcomes in adjusting to cancer. However, the results are consistent with the theory, which states that compared to those with low efficacy, highly efficacious people demonstrate less anxiety and better adjustment in stressful situations and consistent with prior results in which self-efficacy is positively related to quality of life.

Self‐efficacy for coping with cancer in glioma patients measured by the Cancer Behavior Inventory Brief Version

“…Therefore, results have to be interpreted with caution. However, we could show in line with others, for glioma patients greater SECC to be associated with lower DT and lower frequency of unmet needs.…”

“…SECC was found to be associated with lower psychological distress in cancer patients . The same association was found in our study: Glioma patients with greater SECC reported lower distress and lower frequency of unmet needs.…”

Self-Efficacy for Coping with Cancer Enhances the Effect of Reiki Treatments During the Pre-Surgery Phase of Breast Cancer Patients

“…This result is completely in line with the social cognitive theory, that posits self-efficacy for coping with cancer in a strict negative relationship with stress and positive relationship with quality of life of cancer patients (21,24). Therefore, also past literature results confirmed these relationships (4,25).…”

“…Along those lines, selfefficacy for coping with cancer, that is the expectations about the ability to cope with cancer, plays a critical role in influencing cancer-related outcomes including anxiety, directly or indirectly (4,20,21). There is a negative relationship between perceived self-efficacy for coping with cancer and anxiety in cancer patients (4,(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25) and, specifically, in breast cancer patients (4,26). Recently different studies are showing an extension of the role of selfefficacy, specifically in cancer patients, as statistic moderator of the effect of cancer stressors (27), and also in moderating the effect of intervention in breast cancer patients (28).…”

The influence of self-efficacy and resilient coping on cancer patients’ quality of life

“…Self-efficacy is the belief that a person can produce desired outcomes as a result of his/her own actions using their own capabilities and skills (Bandura, 1997). People with a high degree of self-efficacy have a greater confidence in their ability to execute courses of action and have a higher probability of attaining their goals (Chirico, Lucidi et al, 2017). Self-efficacy is associated with QoL in general (Kostka & Jachimowicz, 2010) and with QoL outcomes in cancer (Chirico, Serpentini et al, 2017;Foster et al, 2015;Thieme, Einenkel, Zenger, & Hinz, 2017).…”