title: Changes in finding benefit after cancer surgery and the prediction of well-being one year later.
abstract: Critical life events, such as cancer surgery, may result in finding some benefit in one's fate. In this longitudinal study with 117 cancer patients (73 men, 44 women) in hospitals in Berlin, we addressed three questions. (1) Do patients report benefit finding after surgery? (2) Are changes in benefit finding related to patients' well-being? (3) Is social support associated with finding benefits in cancer? Patients were interviewed and completed a questionnaire in the week before cancer surgery. They were invited to participate in the follow-up by letter with a questionnaire at one month and again at 12 months postsurgery. Benefit finding was measured by a seven-item scale assessing different facets of positive changes attributed to experiencing grave illness. Although benefit finding increased over one year, change was substantial only for those who started off at a low level. Well-being was not associated with benefit finding at any point in time. However, changes in benefit finding predicted subsequent well-being. Received support was associated with benefit finding. Changes in benefit finding as well as initial support emerged as joint predictors of well-being.
authors.affiliation: Freie Universität Berlin, Gesundheitspsychologie, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany. health@zedat.fu-berlin.de
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwarzer
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Luszczynska
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boehmer
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taubert
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Knoll
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000601:surgery*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires