Acceso usuarios
Miri Cohen, Marc Gelkopf
Background and objectives: Self-efficacy for coping with cancer is a significant factor for cancer survivors’ quality of life, but it has not been examined among individuals with preexisting severe mental health conditions (SMHC).
This study compared perceptions of self-efficacy for coping with cancer among cancer survivors with and without precancer SMHC; quality of communication with the oncology team and depressive symptoms as antecedents of self-efficacy; and the mediating role of self-regulation (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) between antecedents and perceived self-efficacy for coping with cancer.
Methods: Participants were 170 adult cancer survivors with preexisting SMHC and 80 with no SMHC, aged 20–71, and 1–5 years since diagnosis. They filled out questionnaires in a face-to-face meeting. Multigroup path analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling.
Results: Individuals with SMHC reported lower self-efficacy for coping with cancer and higher levels of depressive symptoms. In the SMHC group, cognitive reappraisal mediated the association between perceived communication quality and self-efficacy, and expressive suppression mediated the relationship between depressive symptoms and self-efficacy.
Conclusions: The results highlight the deficiency in self-efficacy for coping with cancer in individuals with SMHC, a prominent factor for treatment adherence and quality of life among cancer survivors. Findings suggest selfefficacy may be strengthened via more emphatic and attentive communication with the oncology team and fostering effective emotion regulation strategies.
