title: Mechanisms of psychological resiliency in women after mastectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate into the mechanisms of resiliency in women after mastectomy. We hypothesized that the mechanism of resiliency in women with breast cancer would involve facilitation of adaptive coping strategies and inhibition of maladaptive strategies. We tested a mediational model in which resiliency was related to satisfaction with life through coping strategies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty women after mastectomy aged 28-69 years (M = 53.23, SD = 9.00) completed the Ego Resiliency Scale, Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The bootstrapping technique revealed that there were significant indirect effects for positive reframing (95% CI: 0.01-0.36), hopelessness/helplessness (95% CI: 0.18-0.83) and anxious preoccupation (95% CI: 0.001-0.55) but not for fighting spirit. The models explained up to 33% of the variance in satisfaction with life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Coping strategies fully explain the effect of resiliency on satisfaction with life in women after mastectomy. This finding provides additional evidence of the fundamental role of coping strategies in the mechanisms of resiliency. We obtained similar results in patients with type II diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. The lack of significant associations of fighting spirit with resiliency suggests that this coping strategy may be beneficial for somatic health but its contribution to the mechanisms of psychological resiliency is complex.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: Lukasz D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Kaczmarek
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sęk
authors.forename: Michał
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ziarko
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marzec
keywords: breast cancer; coping strategies; positive emotions; resiliency; satisfaction with life