Hope, meaning in life and religious/spiritual struggle predicts the quality of life in cancer patients with early and advanced malignancy: a structural equation modeling approach

ABSTRACT

Purpose

This study examined hope, meaning in life (MIL), and religious/spiritual struggle (RSS) as predictors of the quality of life (QOL) in cancer patients. We hypothesized a positive association of QOL with hope and MIL, whereas a negative association with RSS. The stage of cancer was hypothesized as a moderator variable between QOL and hope. Hope and MIL were assumed as positive predictors and RSS as negative predictor of QOL.

Methods

Data stem from the cross-sectional survey study of 300 cancer patients (Mean age = 50.97 ± 13.50 SD). Herth Hope Index, Meaning in Life Scale, Religious Spiritual Struggle Scale and WHO-QOL-BRIEF were used. The correlation coefficient and partial least square structural equation modeling approach (PLS-SEM) were used for assessing the measurement model and the structural model.

Results

As hypothesized, QOL was found positively associated with Hope and MIL, but negatively associated with RSS. The stage of cancer was hypothesized as a negative moderator. The three predictors significantly predicted QOL in cancer patients and explained 75.3% of the variance in QOL, and the overall model fit was adequate (SRMR = 0.075). Hope and MIL had a positive impact on QOL (β = .356, p < 0.01; β = .355 p < 0.01, respectively), whereas RSS had a negative impact (β =  –.102, p < .05). The Stage of cancer did not moderate the path coefficient between the hope and QOL to a significant degree (β = .097, p > 0.01).

Conclusion

In cancer patients, hope and MIL are facilitators of QOL. Addressing religious and spiritual concerns and struggles is critical to overall QOL improvement.

KEYWORDS:

• Hope
• meaning in life
• religious/spiritual struggle
• quality of life
• cancer patients

Open Scholarship

This article has earned the Center for Open Science badge for Open Materials. The materials are openly accessible at https://osf.io/utpqd/?view_only=583dac7e6bc44642bfc92e837b863681.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Competing interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical statement

1. Institutional Review Board Statement: The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by an Institutional Review Board/Ethics Committee. ☑

2. The study received an exemption from an Institutional Review Board/Ethics Committee. ☑

Additional information

Funding

This study was approved by the ethics committee of the State Cancer Institute (Acad.Cell 1468 Dated 30/05/2018). We adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki (1964) as well as its subsequent amendment. The data are available upon request from the first author.