The role of spirituality in the psychological adjustment to cancer: A test of the transactional model of stress and coping

Abstract

Recent studies in the oncology literature have shown that spirituality, defined as the combination of existential and religious well-being (RWB), is related to both emotional well-being and quality of life. Indeed, spirituality may be particularly important in coping with the potential life threat of the disease. Based on Frankl's (1963) existential theory, in this study, we examined whether the relations between spirituality and emotional well-being are moderated by degree of perceived life threat (PLT). In addition, in this study, we examined the relative importance of religious versus existential well-being in relation to psychological adjustment. Patients diagnosed with various types of cancer (N = 95) completed questionnaires assessing spirituality, PLT, quality of life, and distress. Contrary to theoretical predictions, spirituality was associated with less distress and better quality of life regardless of PLT. Interestingly, existential but not RWB accounted for a major portion of the variance in these outcomes. Taken together, these findings suggest that spirituality, particularly the existential component, may be associated with reduced symptoms of distress in cancer patients regardless of life threat.

A Systematic Review of Associations between Spiritual Well-Being and Quality of Life at the Scale and Factor Levels in Studies among Patients with Cancer

“…A positive association between overall SpWB and QOL remained significant after controlling for demographic and clinical variables 14,[20][21][22]32,34,36,43 with the exception of one study 44 (see Table 3). However, this positive association (ranges from 0.36 to 0.70) was not equal when QOL was broken down into its physical (ranges from 0.22 to 0.54), social (ranges from 0.24 to 0.54), emotional (ranges from 0.27 to 0.58), and functional dimensions (ranges from 0.38 to 0.67).…”

“…Existential well-being measured as one subscale of the MQOL strongly correlated with a single-item scale measuring overall QOL and moderately correlated to the selfadministered Spitzer Quality of Life Index (SA-QLI). 28 Laubmeier and colleagues 43 identified a positive association between existential well-being (measured on the SWBS) and overall QOL. Johnson and colleagues 46 reported that global meaning measured on LAP-R PMI was positively associated with mental health (on the SF-36).…”

“…Two studies used partial correlation procedures 11,37 ; one study employed structural equation modeling 42 ; and three studies included interaction terms in examining the association of factors of SpWB with QOL. 15,31,43 Findings on the association between SpWB and QOL Associations using the FACIT-Sp-12 to measure SpWB.…”

Role of spirituality in cancer coping among African Americans: a qualitative examination

“…The literature indicates that spiritual concerns are important to quality of life and health among cancer patients, and that spirituality facilitates cancer coping [13][14]. It has been suggested that spirituality be a focus of models addressing quality of life in oncology patients [15].…”

The Impact of an Interim Protection Order (Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998) on the Victims of Domestic Violence

“…This finding confirmed the view of Levin and Schiller (1987) that the development of intrinsically orientated religious variables and positive psychological attitudes may buffer individuals from stress-related components of illness. Laubmeier, Zakowski and Bair (2004) found that spirituality (which they define as a combination of existential and religious well-being), was related to both emotional well-being and quality of life. In a study conducted in Chicago, United States of America, on 95 cancer patients with various types of cancer, they found that spirituality (especially the existential component) was associated with reduced symptoms of distress and better quality of life, regardless of life threat.…”