Optimistic personality and psychosocial well-being during treatment predict psychosocial well-being among long-term survivors of breast cancer.
In considering well-being among survivors of life-threatening illnesses such as breast cancer, 2 important questions are whether there is continuity between initial adjustment and longer term adjustment and what role personality plays in long-term adjustment. In this research, a sample of 163 early stage breast cancer patients whose psychosocial adjustment was first assessed during the year after surgery completed the same measures 5-13 years after surgery. Initial reports of well-being were relatively strong predictors of follow-up well-being on the same measures. Initial optimism and marital status also predicted follow-up adjustment, even controlling for earlier adjustment, which exerted a substantial unique effect in multivariate analyses. In contrast, initial medical variables played virtually no predictive role. There is substantial continuity of subjective well-being across many years among survivors of breast cancer, rooted partly in personality and social connection.
Carver
Charles S
CS
Department of PsychologyUniversity of Miami, Miami, FL 33124-2070, USA. ccarver@miami.edu
Smith
Roselyn G
RG
Antoni
Michael H
MH
Petronis
Vida M
VM
Weiss
Sharlene
S
Derhagopian
Robert P
RP
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D003469:Culture; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010551:Personality; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*