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Social Problem Solving and Posttraumatic Growth New Possibilities in Postoperative Breast Cancer Survivors

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether social problem solving (SPS) would relate to posttraumatic growth (PTG), particularly new life possibilities in breast cancer survivors. Participants included 85 women who had undergone surgical intervention for breast cancer at least 6 months prior to study participation. Participant ages ranged from 29 to 88 years. The majority of the sample was White (86%), married (58%), and had received at least some postsecondary education (73%), and all participants spoke English. This IRB-approved cross-sectional study was part of a larger study examining psychosocial protective and risk factors in breast cancer survivors at a university-affiliated private hospital. We hypothesized that better SPS ability would relate to PTG new possibilities above and beyond age, annual income, and time since surgery. Results from this study indicate that a positive problem orientation and lack of impulsive/careless problem-solving style appear to play a role in posttraumatic growth among breast cancer survivors, particularly in developing beliefs about one’s ability to positively change one’s life. Given the established benefits of active/approach coping in cancer populations, it makes sense that similar interventions such as problem-solving therapy, a cognitive-behavioral therapy that includes challenging and reframing negative beliefs about self and situation, may promote new possibility beliefs in this population.

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Funding

Funding was provided by The Cooper Foundation Pink Roses Teal Magnolias Fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. La Salle University, Philadelphia, USA

    Elisabeth S. Markman, Kelly S. McClure, Cori E. McMahon, Nataliya Zelikovsky, Brian W. Macone & Anastasia J. Bullock

  2. Department of Veterans Affairs, James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, Tampa, FL, USA

    Elisabeth S. Markman

  3. Cooper University Hospital, Camden, USA

    Cori E. McMahon & Anastasia J. Bullock

  4. Tridiuum, Inc, Wayne, USA

    Cori E. McMahon

  5. Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA

    Nataliya Zelikovsky

  6. University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, USA

    Brian W. Macone

Authors
  1. Elisabeth S. Markman
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  2. Kelly S. McClure
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  3. Cori E. McMahon
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  4. Nataliya Zelikovsky
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  6. Anastasia J. Bullock
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Correspondence to Elisabeth S. Markman.

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Conflict of Interest

Elisabeth S. Markman, Kelly S. McClure, Cori E. McMahon, Nataliya Zelikovsky, Brian W. Macone, Anastasia J. Bullock declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee (Cooper University Hospital Institutional Review Board, IRB Number: 15-137EX) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Markman, E.S., McClure, K.S., McMahon, C.E. et al. Social Problem Solving and Posttraumatic Growth New Possibilities in Postoperative Breast Cancer Survivors. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 27, 518–526 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-019-09641-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-019-09641-3

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