Effects of global meaning and illness-specific meaning on health outcomes among breast cancer patients.
Growing attention has focused on meaning-making processes and their health correlates among cancer patients. However, much of this work is marked by conceptual and methodological limitations. The current study evaluated global meaning and theoretically distinct aspects of illness-specific meaning (i.e., seeking sense, found sense, seeking benefits, found benefits) among breast cancer survivors who had completed primary treatment. Health outcomes (i.e., emotional distress, health-related quality-of-life) were assessed 4 months later. Different facets of meaning had different longitudinal associations with outcomes. Findings underscore the importance of distinguishing among conceptually discrete dimensions of personal meaning.
Sherman
Allen C
AC
Behavioral Medicine, Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, #756, 4301 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA. shermanallenc@uams.edu
Simonton
Stephanie
S
Latif
Umaira
U
Bracy
Lew
L
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000150:complications; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome