title: Self-forgiveness, spirituality, and psychological adjustment in women with breast cancer.
abstract: We evaluated whether a self-forgiving attitude and spirituality were related to psychological adjustment among 81 women being treated for breast cancer at a medical oncology clinic in a county general hospital. Both a self-forgiving attitude and spirituality were unique predictors of less mood disturbance and better quality of life (p's < 0.001). These results are consistent with previous research that has demonstrated a positive relationship between spirituality and well-being. The findings also suggest that self-forgiveness should be explored experimentally to determine whether it can protect against the psychological effects of breast cancer-related stress. Interventions targeting these characteristics could improve the quality of life and alleviate stress, especially in women with breast cancer in public sector settings.
authors.affiliation: Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. romeroc@bcm.tmc.edu
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: Lois C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: Mamta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kalidas
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Elledge
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Kathleen R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Liscum
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012649:Self Concept; D012803:Sick Role; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D029181:Spirituality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires