The role of positive and negative religious/spiritual coping in women’s adjustment to breast cancer: A longitudinal study

Abstract

Purpose: Investigate change in women’s use of religious/spiritual coping (R/S) in relation to breast cancer.

Design: Longitudinal, prospective.

Sample: Fifty-six breast cancer and 82 benign diagnosis.

Methods: R/S coping and depressed mood were assessed at pre-diagnosis, 3, 6, and 12 months post-diagnosis.

Findings: Breast cancer patients increased their use of benevolent reappraisal coping from 3 to 6 months post-diagnosis while women with a benign diagnosis evidenced stability in this coping strategy. Negative R/S coping and depressed mood were associated concurrently and longitudinally for both diagnostic groups.

Conclusions: Depressed mood and negative R/S coping are intertwined across time suggesting that women from both diagnostic groups may experience emotional and spiritual struggle in their adjustment to the threat of breast cancer.

Implications for Psychosocial Providers: Clinicians need to identify and intervene early to help women address negative R/S coping as it may influence women’s adjustment within the first year post-diagnosis.

Keywords:

• breast cancer
• coping
• longitudinal
• religious/spiritual

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (#410-2006-0880).