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Depression as mediator and or moderator on the relationship between hopelessness and patients’ desire for hastened death

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Abstract

Purpose

Previous findings have shown that depression in advanced stages of cancer is associated with hopelessness and frequently with wishes for hastened death. The current study tries to investigate the relationship between hopelessness and desire for hastened death and if depression may be a moderator and/or mediator role in patients with advanced cancer.

Method

The participants were 102 patients with advanced cancer which they completed the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), the Greek Schedule of Attitudes towards Hastened Death (G-SAHD), and the Greek Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).

Results

Depression was highly correlated with hopelessness and desire for hastened death. Mediation analyses revealed that hopelessness influenced desire for hastened death as well as indirectly by its effect on depression. Similarly, depression was found as moderator in the relationship between hopelessness with desire for hastened death.

Conclusions

Hopelessness and desire for hastened death in patients with advanced cancer should be diagnosed and treated by taking into consideration the optimum care of depression as a priority in palliative care.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pain Relief and Palliative Care Unit, Department of Radiology, Areteion Hospital, School of Medicine, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, 27 Korinthias St., 115 26, Athens, Greece

    Efi Parpa, Eleni Tsilika, Antonis Galanos, Maria Nikoloudi & Kyriaki Mystakidou

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  1. Efi Parpa
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  2. Eleni Tsilika
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  3. Antonis Galanos
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  4. Maria Nikoloudi
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  5. Kyriaki Mystakidou
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Correspondence to Kyriaki Mystakidou.

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Parpa, E., Tsilika, E., Galanos, A. et al. Depression as mediator and or moderator on the relationship between hopelessness and patients’ desire for hastened death. Support Care Cancer 27, 4353–4358 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-04715-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-04715-2

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