Coping with terminal illness: the role of hopeful thinking.
Using Snyder's theory of hope, the role of hope in the process of dying from a terminal illness is discussed. In this theory, hope is defined as the perceived capability to produce workable routes to desired goals (pathways thinking) and the requisite motivation to use those routes (agency thinking). Strategies by which individuals can maintain and even increase hope during the dying process are described, along with interventions to maintain patients' hope. Directions for future research are suggested.
Gum
Amber
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Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045-2462, USA.
Snyder
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D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001601:Bereavement; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D009013:Morale; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012944:Social Support; D019452:Terminally Ill / Q000523:psychology*