COGNITIVE APPRAISAL, COPING RESPONSES, SOCIAL SUPPORT, AND PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT IN IRISH WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER RECEIVING CYTOTOXIC CHEMOTHERAPY.

Description

The purpose of the study was to assess the relationships among cognitive appraisal of cancer, coping processes, social support and psychosocial health outcomes in a sample of Irish breast cancer women receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy. The model of perceptual appraisal and coping developed by Lazarus and Folkman provided the theoretical framework for the study. The study was cross sectional, descriptive and correlational. Eighty six newly diagnosed breast cancer females receiving first time chemotherapy as outpatients in five hospitals comprised the sample. A single questionnaire item measured appraisal, the Ways of Coping Checklist, the Norbeck Social Support Scale and the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale also were administered. The majority of women (53%) found having cancer for which they were being actively treated with chemotherapy a "challenge". The challenge appraisal group were significantly different from the harm/loss and threat appraisal groups with respect to psychosocial adjustment to illness indicating greater adjustment. No differences were found between the appraisal groups with respect to coping and there were no significant relationships between coping and psychosocial adjustment to illness and between social support and psychosocial adjustment to illness. Thirty eight percent of the variance in psychosocial adjustment to illness was explained by the two emotion-focused coping strategies of self-control (3%), and escape-avoidance (22%), by four social support scales (9%) and time since diagnosis (4%). The study identified situation specific responses in Irish breast cancer women and contributes to the body of knowledge in cancer research. In particular, it provides an initial understanding of the feelings of Irish breast cancer women and provides a base for further nursing research on this topic.

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