How prostate cancer patients cope: evaluation and refinement of the Prostate Cancer Patients鈥?Coping Strategies Questionnaire

详细信息	查看全文 | 推荐本文 |

• 作者：Christopher F. Sharpley ; PhD^a ; ^{csharpley@onthenet.com.au} ; Vicki Bitsika ; PhD^b ; David R.H. Christie ; MB ; ChB^c
• 关键词：Cancer ; Oncology ; Prostate ; Coping ; Stress
• 刊名：Journal of Men's Health
• 出版年：2012
• 期刊代码：P97_18756867
• 类别：med
• 出版时间：June, 2012
• 卷：9
• 期：2
• 页码：70-78
• 文件大小：117 K

摘要

Background

Prostate cancer (PCa) patients suffer from identifiable stressors that may cause them anxiety and/or depression. In a previous study, an initial exploration of the ways in which PCa patients seek to cope with those stressors was described. However, several methodological limitations prevented direct comparisons of the relative effectiveness of patients鈥?coping strategies. To further investigate this issue, a standardised format was used to present the most commonly-used coping strategies to a new sample of PCa patients and to compare the effectiveness of those strategies.

Methods

A total of 147 PCa patients completed a background questionnaire and the Prostate Cancer Patients鈥?Coping Strategies Questionnaire (which includes 16 common stressors experienced by PCa patients plus a list of Coping Strategies for each stressor item).

Results

The most common stressors included physical, emotional, cognitive and relationship aspects of PCa. Although the coping strategies most used were 鈥淛ust accepted it鈥?and 鈥淓xercise/Activity鈥? these were not the most effective strategies. Data indicated that the strategies that received higher ratings of Overall Clinical Efficacy were either specific to particular stressors, which were clearly defined, or more general to less well-defined stressors. The strategies that were rated as 鈥淰ery successful鈥?by participants who used them were also a mixture of specific and general responses.

Conclusion

PCa patients鈥?ability to respond effectively to the kinds of stressors they encounter appears to be dependent upon the specificity of the stressor itself, with more general responses being made to stressors that were less specific in their effects upon patients. Implications for assessment of PCa patients鈥?ability to cope with the stress they experience, and methods of developing individualised coping strategies, are discussed.