RESEARCH PAPER
Post-traumatic growth among gastrointestinal oncological patients: the perspective of Stevan Hobfoll’s conservation of resources theory
1
Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
2
NZOZ Magodent Oncological Hospital Elbląska, Warsaw, Poland
Submission date: 2019-11-10
Final revision date: 2020-02-29
Acceptance date: 2020-03-10
Online publication date: 2020-03-31
Publication date: 2020-05-18
Current Issues in Personality Psychology 2020;8(1):41-51
KEYWORDS
social supportpost-traumatic growthgastrointestinal cancerconservation-of-resources (COR) theoryconservation of resources (COR) theory
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Background:
This study assessed the relation between social support dimensions and post-traumatic growth (PTG) among a sample of gas-trointestinal cancer patients. Particular focus was placed on the mediating role of resources based on the conservation of re-sources (COR) theory and its effect on the previously mentioned association.
Participants and procedure:
A total of 190 patients comprising 87 females and 103 males with a clinical diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancer were recruited to participate in this study. This was a cross-sectional study, with social support evaluated by the Berlin Social Support Scales (BSSS). The participants’ levels of subjectively possessed resources were assessed by the Conservation of Resources Evalua-tion (COR-E) questionnaire. Posttraumatic growth was evaluated by the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI).
Results:
No direct relation was found between social support and PTG among participants. However, a mediating role of subjectively possessed resources was detected through the COR theory on the aforementioned relationship, i.e. the link between social sup-port and PTG. More specifically, the level of economic and political resources was a mediator in the relation.
Conclusions:
These results contribute to extant literature on the psychological aspects of gastrointestinal cancer. Evidently, social support may be related to positive outcomes among gastrointestinal cancer patients in the form of PTG.
This study assessed the relation between social support dimensions and post-traumatic growth (PTG) among a sample of gas-trointestinal cancer patients. Particular focus was placed on the mediating role of resources based on the conservation of re-sources (COR) theory and its effect on the previously mentioned association.
Participants and procedure:
A total of 190 patients comprising 87 females and 103 males with a clinical diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancer were recruited to participate in this study. This was a cross-sectional study, with social support evaluated by the Berlin Social Support Scales (BSSS). The participants’ levels of subjectively possessed resources were assessed by the Conservation of Resources Evalua-tion (COR-E) questionnaire. Posttraumatic growth was evaluated by the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI).
Results:
No direct relation was found between social support and PTG among participants. However, a mediating role of subjectively possessed resources was detected through the COR theory on the aforementioned relationship, i.e. the link between social sup-port and PTG. More specifically, the level of economic and political resources was a mediator in the relation.
Conclusions:
These results contribute to extant literature on the psychological aspects of gastrointestinal cancer. Evidently, social support may be related to positive outcomes among gastrointestinal cancer patients in the form of PTG.
REFERENCES (46)
1.
Akechi, T., Okuyama, T., Sugawara, Y., Nakano, T., Shima, Y., & Uchitomi, Y. (2004). Major depression, ad-justment disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder in terminally ill cancer patients: associated and predic-tive factors. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 22, 1957–1965. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.20....
2.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: Freeman.
3.
Bellizzi, K. M., & Blank, T. O. (2006). Predicting posttraumatic growth in breast cancer survivors. Health Psy-chology, 25, 47–56. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6....
4.
Bianco, T., & Eklund, R. C. (2001). Conceptual considerations for social support research in sport and exercise settings: The case of sport injury. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 23, 85–107.
5.
Casellas‐Grau, A., Ochoa, C., & Ruini, C. (2017). Psychological and clinical correlates of posttraumatic growth in cancer: a systematic and critical review. Psycho‐Oncology, 26, 2007–2018. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.44....
6.
Chen, S., Westman, M., & Eden, D. (2009). Impact of enhanced resources on anticipatory stress and adjustment to new information technology: a field-experimental test of conservation of resources theory. Journal of Oc-cupational Health Psychology, 14, 219–230. https://doi.org/10.1037/a00152....
7.
Connerty, T., & Knott, V. (2013). Promoting positive change in the face of adversity: Experiences of cancer and post-traumatic growth. European Journal of Cancer Care, 22, 334–344. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecc.12....
8.
Cordova, M. J., Cunningham, L. L., Carlson, C. R., & Andrykowski, M. A. (2001). Posttraumatic growth follow-ing breast cancer: a controlled comparison study. Health Psychology, 20, 176–185. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6....
9.
Cordova, M. J., Giese-Davis, J., Golant, M., Kronenwetter, C., Chang, V., & Spiegel, D. (2007). Breast cancer as trauma: posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 14, 308–319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880....
10.
Diestel, S., & Schmidt, K. (2012). Lagged mediator effects of self-control demands on psychological strain and absenteeism. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 85, 556–578. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044....
11.
Dudek, B., Gruszczyńska, E., & Koniarek, J. (2006). Teoria zachowania zasobów S. Hobfolla – zagadnienia teoretyczne i metodologiczne oraz adaptacja kwestionariusza COR-Evaluation [Conservation of resources theory by S. Hobfoll – theoretical and methodological issues and adaptation of the COR-Evaluation ques-tionnaire]. In T. Pasikowski & H. Sęk (Eds.), Psychologia zdrowia: teoria, metodologia i empiria [Health psychology: theory, methodology and empiricism] (pp. 51–60). Poznań: Bogucki Wydawnictwo Naukowe.
12.
Hall, B. J., Rattigan, S., Walter, K. H., & Hobfoll, S. E. (2006). Conservation of resources theory and trauma: an evaluation of new and existing principles. In P. Buchwald (Ed.), Stress and anxiety – application to health, community, work place, and education (pp. 230–250). Newcastle: Cambridge Scholar Press.
13.
Hamel, L. M., Penner, L. A., Eggly, S., Chapman, R., Klamerus, J. F., Simon, M., Stanton, S. C., & Albrecht, T. L. (2017). Do patients and oncologists discuss the cost of cancer treatment? An observational study of clinical interactions between African American patients and their oncologists. Journal of Oncology Practice, 13, e249–e258. https://doi.org/10.1200/JOP.20....
14.
Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: a regression-based approach. New York: Guilford Press.
15.
Heszen-Niejodek, I. (2013). Psychologia stresu: korzystne i niekorzystne skutki stresu życiowego [Psychology of stress: the beneficial and adverse effects of life stress]. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
16.
Ho, S. M., Chan, C. L., & Ho, R. T. (2011). Posttraumatic growth in Chinese cancer survivors. Psycho-Oncology, 13, 377–389. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.75....
17.
Hobfoll, S. E. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested‐self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology, 50, 337–421. https://doi.org/10.1111/1464-0....
18.
Hobfoll, S. E. (2002). Social and psychological resources and adaptation. Review of General Psychology, 6, 307–324. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2....
19.
Hobfoll, S. E., Hall, B. J., Canetti-Nisim, D., Galea, S., Johnson, R. J., & Palmieri, P. A. (2007). Refining our un-derstanding of traumatic growth in the face of terrorism: Moving from meaning cognitions to doing what is meaningful. Applied Psychology, 56, 345–366. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464....
20.
Hou, W. K., Law, C. C., & Fu, Y. T. (2010). Does change in positive affect mediate and/or moderate the impact of symptom distress on psychological adjustment after cancer diagnosis? A prospective analysis. Psychology & Health, 25, 417–431. https://doi.org/10.1080/088704....
21.
Kim, J., Kim, M., & Park, S. (2016). Exploring the relationship among posttraumatic growth, life satisfaction, and happiness among Korean individuals with physical disabilities. Psychological Reports, 119, 312–327. https://doi.org/10.1177/003329....
22.
Koutrouli, N., Anagnostopoulos, F., & Potamianos, G. (2012). Posttraumatic stress disorder and posttraumatic growth in breast cancer patients: a systematic review. Women & Health, 52, 503–516. https://doi.org/10.1080/036302....
23.
Lambert, S. D., Yoon, H., Ellis, K. R., & Northouse, L. (2015). Measuring appraisal during advanced cancer: Psychometric testing of the appraisal of caregiving scale. Patient Education and Counseling, 98, 633–639. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.....
24.
Lazarus, R., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
25.
Łuszczyńska, A., Kowalska, M., Mazurkiewicz, M., & Schwarzer, R. (2006). Berlińskie skale wsparcia społecz-nego (BSSS): Wyniki wstępnych badań nad adaptacją skal i ich własnościami psychometrycznymi [Berlin social support scales (BSSS): Polish version of BSSS and preliminary results on its psychometric properties]. Studia Psychologiczne, 44, 17–27.
26.
MacKinnon, D. P. (2008). Introduction to statistical mediation analysis. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group.
27.
Mehnert A., Hartung, T. J., Friedrich, M., Vehling, S., Brahler, E., Harter, M., Keller, M., Schulz, H., Wegscheider, K., Weis, J., Koch, U., & Faller, H. (2017). One in two cancer patients is significantly distressed: Prevalence and indicators of distress. Psycho-Oncology, 27, 75–82. https://doi.org/ 10.1002/pon.4464.
28.
Moreno-Smith, M., Lutgendorf, S. K., & Sood, A. K. (2010). Impact of stress on cancer metastasis. Future On-cology, 6, 1863–1881. https://doi.org/10.2217/fon.10....
29.
Morris, B. A., Shakespeare-Finch, J., & Scott, J. (2007). Coping processes and dimensions of posttraumatic growth. The Australian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, 1, 1–11.
30.
Ogińska-Bulik, N., & Juczyński, Z. (2010). Rozwój potraumatyczny – charakterystyka i pomiar [Posttraumatic growth – characteristic and measurement]. Psychiatria, 7, 129–142.
31.
Park, C. L., Edmondson, D., Fenster, J. R., & Blank, T. (2008). Meaning making and psychological adjustment following cancer: The mediating roles of growth, life meaning, and restored just‐world beliefs. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 863–875. https://doi.org/10.1037/a00133....
32.
Park, C. L., & Helgeson, V. S. (2006). Introduction to the special section: Growth following highly stressful life events – current status and future directions. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 791–796. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0....
33.
Paterson, C., Robertson, A., & Nabi, G. (2015). Exploring prostate cancer survivors’ self-management behav-iours and examining the mechanism effect that links coping and social support to health-related quality of life, anxiety and depression: a prospective longitudinal study. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 19, 120–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejon....
34.
Pięta, M., Rzeszutek, M., & Gasik, R. (2019). Body image, pain and level of resources among arthritis patients: The moderating role of gender. Psychology, Health and Medicine. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/135485....
35.
Schulz, U., & Schwarzer, R. (2003). Soziale Unterstützung bei der Krankheitsbewältigung: Die Berliner Social Support Skalen (BSSS) [Social support in coping with illness: The Berlin Social Support Scales (BSSS)]. Diag-nostica, 49, 73–82. https://doi. org/10.1026//0012-1924.49.2.73.
36.
Schwarzer, R., Luszczynska, A., Boehmer, S., Taubert, S., & Knoll, N. (2006). Changes in finding benefit after cancer surgery and the prediction of well-being one year later. Social Science & Medicine, 63, 1614–1624. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socs....
37.
Sears, S. R., Stanton, A. L., & Danoff-Burg, S. (2003). The yellow brick road and the emerald city: Benefit find-ing, positive reappraisal coping and posttraumatic growth in women with early-stage breast cancer. Health Psychology, 22, 487–497. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6....
38.
Segerstrom, S. C., & Miller, G.E. (2004). Psychological stress and the human immune system: a meta-analytic study of 30 years of inquiry. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 601–630. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2....
39.
Skinner, E., Edge, K., Altman, J., & Sherwood, H. (2003). Searching for the structure of coping: a review and critique of category systems for classifying ways of coping. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 216–269. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2....
40.
Stark, D. P., & House, A. (2000). Anxiety in cancer patients. British Journal of Cancer, 83, 1261–1267. https://doi.org/10.1054/ bjoc.2000.1405.
41.
Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (1996). The Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9, 455–471. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF0210....
42.
Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evi-dence. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327....
43.
Teunissen, S. C., Wesker, W., Kruitwagen, C., de Haes, H. C., Voest, E. E., & de Graeff, A. (2007). Symptom prevalence in patients with incurable cancer: a systematic review. Journal of Pain and Symptom Manage-ment, 34, 94–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpai....
44.
Vitek, L., Rosenzweig, M. Q., & Stollings, S. (2007). Distress in patients with cancer: Definition, assessment, and suggested interventions. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 11, 413–418. https://doi.org/10.1188/07.CJO....
45.
Wang, M. L., Liu, J. E., Wang, H. Y., Chen, J., & Li, Y. Y. (2014). Posttraumatic growth and associated socio-demographic and clinical factors in Chinese breast cancer survivors. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 18, 478–483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejon....
46.
Weis, J. (2003). Support groups for cancer patients. Support Care Cancer, 11, 763–768. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520....
Copyright: © Institute of Psychology, University of Gdansk This is an Open Access journal, all articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.
Share
RELATED ARTICLE
| eISSN: | 2353-561X |
| ISSN: | 2353-4192 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
