Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T08:43:27.220Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Religion and spirituality among patients with localized prostate cancer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 October 2006

NATALIE HAMRICK  and
MICHAEL A. DIEFENBACH
NATALIE HAMRICK
Affiliation:
Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesia, Indianapolis, Indiana
MICHAEL A. DIEFENBACH
Affiliation:
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Urology and Oncological Sciences, New York, New York
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective: To examine: (1) daily religious and spiritual experiences among localized prostate cancer patients as compared to a national age and race-matched male sample; (2) cognitive-affective and clinical predictors of prostate cancer diagnosis-related increases in religiosity and spirituality; (3) short-term impact of daily religious and spiritual experiences on cancer recurrence worry.

Methods: Analyses of data from a longitudinal questionnaire study among patients (N = 254) diagnosed with localized prostate cancer and data from a random sample (N = 238) of respondents to the national General Social Survey.

Results: Compared to the national sample, prostate cancer patients reported higher levels of daily spiritual experiences. Patients with higher worry about prostate cancer and elevated levels of prostate-related symptoms around diagnosis were more likely to report a diagnosis-related increase in religiosity and spirituality. Positive benefits (reduced recurrence worry) of religious coping/practices were restricted to those patients with higher versus lower level of postdiagnosis increase in religiosity; patients not reporting postdiagnosis increases in religion who are not engaging in religious coping/practice adjusted equally well. Results suggest that the development of religious/spiritual interventions is premature.

Significance of results: This is the first prospective study to report on the prevalence and influence of daily spiritual and religious experiences among prostate cancer patients.

Keywords

Prostate cancerReligionSpiritualityReligious copingQuality of life
Type
Research Article
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 4 , Issue 4 , December 2006 , pp. 345 - 355
Copyright
© 2006 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

American Cancer Society, (2002). Cancer Facts & Figures 2002. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society.
Ballard, A., Green, T., et al. (1997). A comparison of the level of hope in patients with newly diagnosed and recurrent cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 24, 889–904.Google Scholar
Baugh, J. (1988). Gaining control by giving up control: Strategies for coping with powerlessness. In Behavior Therapy and Religion: Integrating Spiritual and Behavioral Approaches to Change, Miller, W. & Martin, J. (eds.), pp. 125–138. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Bearon, L. & Koenig, H. (1990). Religious cognitions and use of prayer in health and illness. Gerontologist, 30, 249–253.Google Scholar
Brady, M., Peterman, A., et al. (1999). A case for including spirituality in quality of life measurement in oncology. Psycho-Oncology, 8(5), 417–428.Google Scholar
Brandt, B. (1987). The relationship between hopelessness and selected variables in women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 14, 35–39.Google Scholar
Cole, B. & Pargament, K. (1999a). Re-creating your life: A spiritual/psychotherapeutic intervention for people diagnosed with cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 8, 395–407.Google Scholar
Cole, B. & Pargament, K. (1999b). Spiritual surrender: A paradoxical path to control. In Integrating Spirituality in Treatment: Resources for Practitioners, Miller, W. (ed.), pp. 179–198. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Cotton, S., Levine, E., et al. (1999). Exploring the relationships among spiritual well-being, quality of life, and psychological adjustment in women with breast cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 8, 429–438.Google Scholar
Davis, J. & Smith, T. (1998). General Social Survey Cumulative File. http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/GSS/homepage.html
Diefenbach, M.A., Dorsey, J., et al. (2002). Decision making strategies for patients with localized prostate cancer. Seminars in Urologic Oncology, 20, 55–62.Google Scholar
Diefenbach, M., Leventhal, E., et al. (1996). Negative affect relates to cross-sectional but not longitudinal symptom reporting: Data from elderly adults. Health Psychology, 15, 282–288.Google Scholar
Diefenbach, M.A., Miller, S., et al. (1999). Specific worry about breast cancer predicts mammography use in women at risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Health Psychology, 18, 532–536.Google Scholar
Doyle, D. (1992). Have we looked beyond the physical and psychosocial? Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 7, 302–311.Google Scholar
Dreifus-Kattan, E. (1990). Cancer Stories: Creativity and Self-Repair. Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press.
Esper, P., Mo, F., et al. (1997). Measuring quality of life in men with prostate cancer using the functional assessment of cancer therapy-prostate instrument. Urology, 50, 920–928.Google Scholar
Exline, J., Yali, A., et al. (1999). When God disappoints: Difficulty forgiving God and its role in negative emotion. Journal of Health Psychology, 4, 365–379.Google Scholar
Feher, S. & Maly, R. (1999). Coping with breast cancer in later life: The role of religious faith. Psychooncology, 8, 408–416.Google Scholar
Ferraro, K. & Koch, J. (1994). Religion and health among black and white adults: Examining social support and consolation. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 33, 362–375.Google Scholar
Ferraro, K.F. & Kelley-Moore, J.A. (2000). Religious consolation among men and women: Do health problems spur seeking? Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 39, 220–234.Google Scholar
F.I.N.I.o.A.W. Group. (1999). Multidimensional Measurement of Religiousness/Spirituality for Use in Health Research. Kalamazoo, MI: The Fetzer Institute.
Fitchett, G., Meyer, P., et al. (2000). Spiritual care in the hospital: Who requests it? Who needs it? Journal of Pastoral Care, 54, 173–186.Google Scholar
Fitchett, G., Murphy, P., et al. (2004). Religious struggle: Prevalence, correlates and mental health risks in diabetic, congestive heart failure, and oncology patients. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 34, 179–196.Google Scholar
Fredette, S. (1995). Breast cancer survivors: Concerns and coping. Cancer Nursing, 18, 35–46.Google Scholar
Gall, T. (2000). Integrating religious resources within a general model of stress and coping: Long-term adjustment to breast cancer. Journal of Religion and Health, 39, 167–182.Google Scholar
Gall, T. (2004). Relationship with God and the quality of life of prostate cancer survivors. Quality of Life Research, 13, 1357–1368.Google Scholar
Jenkins, R. & Pargament, K. (1995). Religion and spirituality as resources for coping with cancer. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 13, 51–74.Google Scholar
Johnson, S. & Spilka, B. (1991). Coping with breast cancer: The roles of clergy and faith. Journal of Religion and Health, 30, 21–33.Google Scholar
Kaufman, E. & Micha, V. (1987). A model for psychotherapy with the good-prognosis cancer patient. Psychosomatics, 28, 540–548.Google Scholar
Koenig, H., Pargament, K., et al. (1998). Religious coping and health status in medically ill hospitalized older adults. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 18, 513–521.Google Scholar
Leventhal, H., Diefenbach, M., et al. (1992). Illness cognition: Using common sense to understand treatment adherence and affect cognition interactions. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 16, 143–163.Google Scholar
McCaul, K.D., Branstetter, A.D., O'Donnell, S.M., et al. (1998). A descriptive study of breast cancer worry. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 21, 565–579.Google Scholar
Meyerowitz, B., Heinrich, R., et al. (1989). Helping patients cope with cancer. Oncology (Hunting), 3, 120–129.Google Scholar
Miller, S. & Diefenbach, M. (1998). C-SHIP: A cognitive-social health information processing approach to cancer. In Perspectives in Behavioral Medicine, Krantz, D. (ed.), pp. 219–244. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Miller, S., Shoda, Y., et al. (1996). Applying cognitive-social theory to health-protective behavior: Breast self-examination in cancer screening. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 70–94.Google Scholar
O'Connor, A., Wicker, C., et al. (1990). Understanding the cancer patient's search for meaning. Cancer Nursing, 13, 167–175.Google Scholar
Pargament, K. (1997). The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice. New York: The Guilfrod Press.
Pargament, K., Koenig, H., et al. (2004). Religious coping methods as predictors of psychological, physical and spiritual outcomes among medically ill elderly patients: A two-year longitudinal study. Journal of Health Psychology, 9, 713–730.Google Scholar
Post-White, J., Ceronsky, C., et al. (1996). Hope, spirituality, sense of coherence and quality of life in patients with cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 23, 1571–1579.Google Scholar
Roberts, J., Brown, D., et al. (1997). Factors influencing views of patients with gynecological cancer about end-of-life decisions. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 176, 166–172.Google Scholar
Saleh, U. & Brockopp, D. (2001). Hope among patients with cancer hospitalized for bone marrow transplantation: A phenomenologic study. Cancer Nursing, 24, 308–314.Google Scholar
Scott, C., Stetz, J., et al. (1994). Radiation Therapy Oncology Group quality of life assessment: Design, analysis and data management issues. Quality of Life Research, 3, 199–206.Google Scholar
Sodestrom, K. & Martinson, I. (1987). Patients' spiritual coping strategies: A study of nurse and patient perspectives. Oncology Nursing Forum, 14, 41–46.Google Scholar
Tsongas, P. (1984). Heading Home. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Usala, P. & Hertzog, C. (1989). Measurement of affective states in adults: Evaluation of an adjective rating scale instrument. Research on Aging, 11, 403–426.Google Scholar
Waterhouse, J. & Metcalfe, M. (1986). Development of the sexual adjustment questionnaire. Oncology Nursing Forum, 13, 53–59.Google Scholar
Watkins-Bruner, D., Scott, C., et al. (1995). RTOG'S First Quality of Life Study—RTOG 90–20: A phase II trial of external beam radiation with etanidazole for locally advanced prostate cancer. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, 33, 901–906.Google Scholar