title: Exploring the relationships among spiritual well-being, quality of life, and psychological adjustment in women with breast cancer.
abstract: This study examined the relationships among spiritual well-being, quality of life, and psychological adjustment in 142 women diagnosed with breast cancer who were participating in a larger study designed to compare the efficacy of two psychosocial support programs. Participants were given a set of questionnaires that measured spiritual well-being, quality of life, and adjustment to cancer. Results revealed a positive correlation between spiritual well-being and quality of life, as well as significant correlations between spiritual well-being and specific adjustment styles (e.g. fighting spirit). There was also a negative correlation between quality of life and use of a helpless/hopeless adjustment style, and a positive correlation between quality of life and fatalism. In regression analyses, after controlling for demographic variables and adjustment styles, spiritual well-being contributed very little additional variance in quality of life. These findings suggest that while spiritual well-being is correlated with both quality of life and psychological adjustment, the relationships among these variables are more complex and perhaps indirect than previously considered.
authors.affiliation: Breast Cancer Personal Support and Lifestyle Intervention Trial, California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA and University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Cotton
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Fitzpatrick
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Dold
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Targ
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012068:Religion and Medicine