Abstract
Investigations into the role of hopelessness in cancer-outcomes are gaining importance. This study examined the relations between hopelessness and psychological and serological outcomes among breast-cancer patients. Forty-nine Israeli women with breast-cancer were assessed for background data, hopelessness (helplessness and pessimism), life-changes, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and negative-affect (NA). A sub-sample (N=21) was followed over four months for alterations in the breast-cancer serological marker CA15-3. Hopelessness was significantly correlated with PTSD-symptoms (r=.43) and NA (r=.30). Hopelessness accounted for an additional and significant 17% and 10% of the variances in PTSD-symptoms and NA, respectively, after controlling for effects of cancer-stage, age, time since diagnosis (and life-changes for PTSD). Finally, helplessness (but not pessimism) predicted changes in CA15-3, controlling for cancer-stage (r=.42, p<.05). These results support previous findings concerning the importance of hopelessness in cancer, and extend them to further psychological and serological outcomes.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 289-296 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Psychology and Health |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2001 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Adjustment
- Cancer
- Hopelessness
- Serological marker
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Applied Psychology
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
