Unit of Behavioural Medicine, Division of Research Strategy, UCL, London, UK.
Psychooncology. 2011 Jul;20(7):771-82. doi: 10.1002/pon.1784. Epub 2010 May 26.
The use of religious/spiritual coping strategies may be particularly prevalent when dealing with the stress of a cancer diagnosis. There has, however, been very little research conducted on this topic outside the USA. Existing measures of coping largely ignore the complexity of religious/spiritual coping and its potential to be adaptive as well as maladaptive. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of various religious coping strategies in a UK cancer sample.
A longitudinal design assessed religious coping strategies in patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer at the time of surgery and at 3 and 12 months post surgery. We recruited 202 patients of which, at 12 months, 160 remained. A non-religious coping measure was included for comparison.
The use of religious coping strategies was overall common; up to 73% of patients used positive religious coping to some degree at surgery and up to 53% experienced various religious/spiritual struggles. The use of some religious coping strategies showed differing patterns of change across time while others remained stable.
Using religious/spiritual resources in the coping process during the early stages of breast cancer appears common in the UK. Patients may benefit from having their spiritual needs addressed as experiencing some form of religious/spiritual struggle may serve as a barrier to illness adjustment. Health-care professionals should also be aware that some religious coping strategies may be more prevalent at different times during the first year of illness.
在应对癌症诊断带来的压力时，宗教/精神应对策略的使用可能特别普遍。然而，除了美国以外，针对这一主题的研究非常少。现有的应对措施在很大程度上忽略了宗教/精神应对的复杂性及其潜在的适应性和不适应性。本研究旨在调查英国癌症患者中各种宗教应对策略的流行程度。
采用纵向设计，在手术时和手术后 3 个月和 12 个月评估新诊断为乳腺癌的患者的宗教应对策略。我们招募了 202 名患者，其中 12 个月时有 160 名患者仍在参与研究。同时纳入了一种非宗教应对措施进行比较。
宗教应对策略的使用总体上较为常见；在手术时，多达 73%的患者在某种程度上使用积极的宗教应对策略，多达 53%的患者经历了各种宗教/精神上的困扰。一些宗教应对策略的使用模式在不同时间发生了变化，而其他策略则保持稳定。
在乳腺癌早期的应对过程中使用宗教/精神资源在英国似乎很常见。患者可能会受益于满足其精神需求，因为经历某种形式的宗教/精神困扰可能会成为疾病适应的障碍。医疗保健专业人员还应该意识到，在疾病的第一年的不同时间，某些宗教应对策略可能更为普遍。
