The role of coping in the relationship between stressful life events and quality of life in persons with cancer

Abstract

Objective: Stressful life events (SLEs) impact the quality of life (QOL) of cancer patients. This study investigated the mediation of the relationship between SLEs and QOL (Model 1: Emotional-EQOL and Model 2: Physical/Functional-PFQOL by three types of coping: Action/Planning, Support/Advise-Seeking, and Disengagement/Denial). Design and Main Measures: 662 persons with cancer completed a Stressful Life Events Checklist, the Brief COPE scale, the FACT Emotional, Physical, and Functional Scales, and the Physical Impact Scale of the Sickness Impact Profile. Results: SLEs were positively associated with Action/Planning (Model 1: B = 0.195, 95% CI = [0.089, 0.304]; Model 2: B = 0.192, 95% CI = [0.086, 0.289]) and Disengagement/Denial (Model 1: B = 0.394, 95% CI = [0.281, 0.513]; Model 2: B = .392, 95% CI = [0.285, 0.508]) but not Support/Advice-Seeking; however, only Disengagement/Denial was related to Emotional-QOL (Model 1: B = −0.659, 95% CI = [−0.848, −0.498]) and Physical/Functional-QOL (Model 2: B = −1.460, 95% CI = [−1.856, −1.069]). Thus, only Disengagement/Denial mediated the relationship between SLEs and QOL. Conclusions: The results indicated that SLEs represent a class of events for which there may be only one dominant coping response, disengagement. SLEs may not be controllable or predictable and reduce capacity for active coping with serious illness. However, SLEs may be detected at any point in the cancer trajectory so that supportive services might be provided.

Keywords:

• Cancer
• coping
• stressful life events
• quality of life

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (CA94914). The authors would like to thank the patients from around the country who participated in this study as well as the physicians and staff of Michiana Hematology-Oncology, the Northern Indiana Cancer Research Consortium, and Memorial Hospital’s Regional Cancer Center, South Bend, IN, USA.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Cancer Institute [CA94914].