1. Coping strategies and quality of life in women with advanced breast cancer and their family caregivers
- Author
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Laurel L. Northouse, Charuwan Kritpracha, Ann Schafenacker, Trace Kershaw, and Darlene W. Mood
- Subjects
Positive reframing ,Coping (psychology) ,Emotional support ,Family caregivers ,business.industry ,Advanced breast ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,General Medicine ,General Chemistry ,medicine.disease ,Avoidant coping ,Breast cancer ,medicine ,Profile analysis ,business ,Applied Psychology ,Clinical psychology - Abstract
Coping with advanced breast cancer is a challenge for both women and their family caregivers. The primary purposes of this study were to compare coping strategies used by patients with advanced breast cancer and their family caregivers and to examine how those strategies related to patient and caregiver quality of life. The sample consisted of 189 patient-family member dyads with advanced breast cancer. Profile analysis showed that patients reported greater use of emotional support, religion, positive reframing, distraction, venting, and humor coping while family members reported greater use of alcohol/drug coping. Regression analyses showed that among both patients and family caregivers, active coping was associated with higher quality of life and avoidant coping was associated with lower quality of life. In addition, the patient’s level of symptom distress moderated the relationship between coping and quality of life. The negative relationship between family caregivers’ avoidant coping strategies and fa...
- Published
- 2004
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