Almaraz David, Baumann Klaus, Moreno Martín Florentino, Sánchez-Iglesias Iván, Saiz Jesús
Department of Social, Work and Differential Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Caritas Science and Christian Social Work, Faculty of Theology, Albert-Ludwig University of Freiburg, Platz Der Universität 3, 79098, Freiburg, Germany.
BMC Psychol. 2025 Jul 9;13(1):760. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-03097-x.
Religiosity and spirituality (R/S) are associated with health outcomes in cancer patients, yet the psychosocial and behavioral pathways involved remain insufficiently understood, particularly in Spain. This study examines specific R/S elements and pathways that may contribute to perceived physical health in this population.
A cross-sectional study was conducted with Spanish cancer patients (N = 351), recruited between October 2022 and April 2023. Participants were adults (18-80 years) with a non-terminal cancer diagnosis. The responses were obtained through a questionnaire that included sociodemographic and health variables, as well as validated scales measuring spirituality, religiosity, R/S struggles, psychological factors (gratitude, compassion, negative emotions), social support, health behaviors, and perceived physical health. Path analyses were performed with model fit evaluated using multiple indices (χ, CFI, TLI, RMSEA, SRMR).
The global model did not present a good fit to the data, as did the partial model of religiosity. In contrast, the partial models of spirituality and R/S struggles presented good fit indices and a high explained variance, showing that in both models negative emotions and gratitude act as significant mediating pathways between R/S and perceived physical health.
Despite the limitations caused by the low sample size and the apparent misspecification of the religiosity segment, findings from the partial models suggest that decreased negative emotions and increased gratitude promoted by higher levels of spirituality and lower levels of R/S struggles lead to better perceived physical health in cancer patients. These results highlight the need to integrate spirituality into patient care, often overlooked in Spanish healthcare. Recognizing these pathways could contribute to more holistic care approaches that incorporate R/S dimensions, potentially enhancing oncology patients' quality of life.
宗教信仰和精神性（R/S）与癌症患者的健康结果相关，但其中涉及的心理社会和行为途径仍未得到充分理解，尤其是在西班牙。本研究探讨了可能有助于该人群感知身体健康的特定R/S要素和途径。
对2022年10月至2023年4月招募的西班牙癌症患者（N = 351）进行了一项横断面研究。参与者为成年（18 - 80岁）非终末期癌症诊断患者。通过问卷调查获取了包括社会人口统计学和健康变量，以及测量精神性、宗教信仰、R/S挣扎、心理因素（感恩、同情、负面情绪）、社会支持、健康行为和感知身体健康的有效量表。使用多个指标（χ、CFI、TLI、RMSEA、SRMR）评估模型拟合情况进行路径分析。
整体模型以及宗教信仰部分模型对数据的拟合效果不佳。相比之下，精神性和R/S挣扎部分模型呈现出良好的拟合指数和较高的解释方差，表明在这两个模型中，负面情绪和感恩在R/S与感知身体健康之间起到了重要的中介作用。
尽管样本量较小以及宗教信仰部分明显设定错误带来了局限性，但部分模型的研究结果表明，较高水平的精神性和较低水平的R/S挣扎所促进的负面情绪减少和感恩增加，会使癌症患者的感知身体健康状况更好。这些结果凸显了将精神性纳入患者护理的必要性，这在西班牙医疗保健中常常被忽视。认识到这些途径有助于采用更全面的护理方法，纳入R/S维度，可能提高肿瘤患者的生活质量。
