Posttraumatic growth and demoralization after cancer: The effects of patients' meaning-making.
OBJECTIVE
It is common for patients to experience positive and negative psychological changes (e.g., posttraumatic growth or demoralization) after being diagnosed with cancer. Although demoralization and posttraumatic growth are both related to meaning-making, little attention has been paid to the associations among these concepts. The current study investigated the relationship between demoralization, posttraumatic growth, and meaning-making (focusing on sense-making and benefit-finding during the experience of illness) in cancer patients.


METHODS
Some 200 cancer patients (with lung cancer, lymphoma, or leukemia) at the MacKay Memorial Hospital in New Taipei completed the Demoralization Scale-Mandarin Version (DS-MV), the Chinese Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (CPTGI), and a self-designed questionnaire for assessing sense-making and benefit-finding.


RESULTS
Demoralization was negatively correlated with posttraumatic growth, sense-making, benefit-finding, and time-since-diagnosis. Multiple regression analysis showed that meaning-making had different effects on demoralization and posttraumatic growth. The interactions of sense-making with either benefit-finding or time-since-diagnosis significantly predicted demoralization. Individuals with relatively higher sense-making and benefit-finding or shorter time-since-diagnosis experienced less demoralization.


CONCLUSIONS
The suffering of cancer may turn on the psychological process of demoralization, posttraumatic growth, and meaning-making in patients. Cancer patients who evidenced higher posttraumatic growth experienced less demoralization. Trying to identify positive changes in the experience of cancer may be a powerful way to increase posttraumatic growth. As time goes by, patients experienced less demoralization. Facilitating sense-making can have similar effects. Cancer patients with less benefit-finding experience higher demoralization, but sense-making buffers this effect.
Department of Thanatology and Health Counseling,National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences,Taipei,Taiwan.
Yu-Chan
YC
Li
Department of Thanatology and Health Counseling,National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences,Taipei,Taiwan.
Pei-Chen
PC
Yeh
MacKay Junior College of Medicine, Nursing, and Management,Taipei,Taiwan.
Hong-Wen
HW
Chen
Department of Medical Oncology,MacKay Memorial Hospital,Taipei and New Taipei,Taiwan.
Yi-Fang
YF
Chang
Department of Medical Research,MacKay Memorial Hospital,Taipei,Taiwan.
Shih-Hsuan
SH
Pi
Department of Thanatology and Health Counseling,National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences,Taipei,Taiwan.
Chun-Kai
CK
Fang
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D013624:Taiwan; D055815:Young Adult
Cancer; Demoralization; Meaning-making; Posttraumatic growth