Predictors of concerns and coping strategies of cancer chemotherapy outpatients.

The purpose of this study was to determine predictor variables of the number of concerns and coping strategies of cancer patients during a 6-month period of chemotherapy. The adult patients (N = 64) were diagnosed with selected types of cancer. Patients kept logs in which they recorded concerns and strategies for managing those concerns. Three significant predictors of patients who experienced greater numbers of concerns were identified. Patients with less vigor-activity, less of an internal locus of control, and who perceived the goal of their chemotherapy treatment to be curative reported greater concerns. These factors explained 55% of the total variance in the number of concerns. No significant predictors of coping strategies were obtained.