The association of resilience and age in individuals with colorectal cancer: an exploratory cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND

Studies generally report lower emotional distress in older patients with cancer than in younger patients with cancer. The personality construct of resilience was previously found to be higher with age, but has not been assessed in relation to emotional distress in older patients with cancer.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the mediating effect of resilience on the associations between age and emotional distress in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

An exploratory cross-sectional study of 92 individuals, aged 27-87 years, diagnosed with CRC stage II-III, 1-5 years prior to enrollment in the study. They completed the Wagnild and Young's resilience scale and Brief Symptoms Inventory-18, cancer-related problem list, and demographic and disease-related details.

RESULTS

Older age, male gender, and less cancer-related problems were associated with higher resilience and lower emotional distress. A Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis and mediation tests showed that, while controlling for cancer-related problems, resilience mediated the effects of age and gender on emotional distress.

CONCLUSIONS

The study enlarges the explanation for the consistent previous findings on the better adjustment of older patients with cancer. Increased professional support should be provided for patients with low resilience levels.