Abstract
Cancer is a worldwide disease, and the psychosocial concerns are nearly universal among patients with cancer. The purpose of this study is to investigate the psychosocial correlates of life satisfaction among patients diagnosed with cancer in Jordan. A cross-sectional survey using 92 patients diagnosed with cancer used to collect data in regard to life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, psychological distress, coping, and perceived social support. In general, about 50 % of patients reported high level of life satisfaction and 50 % of the patients reported moderate levels of ability to effectively cope with life situations. Moreover, 78 % of patients reported that they had depressive symptoms and 45.3 % of them reported that they had moderate to severe depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms had significant and negative correlation with life satisfaction (r = −0.50, p < 0.001), and stress had weak nonsignificant correlation with life satisfaction (r = 0.05, p > 0.05). On the other hand, social support from others has positive and significant correlation with life satisfaction (r = 0.32, p < 0.01). Marital status, times of admission, perceived social support from others, and depressive symptoms were significant predictors of life satisfaction. Health professionals need to integrate their medical care with psychosocial intervention early at admission and during follow-up care, so early detection of psychological disturbances will help to implement effective treatment plans.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Yach D, Hawkes C, Gould CL, Hofman KJ (2004) The global burden of chronic diseases: overcoming impediments to prevention and control. J Am Med Assoc 291:2616–2622
Carlson L, Angen M, Cullum J et al (2004) High levels of untreated distress and fatigue in cancer patients. Br Cancer 90:2297–2304
Kaasa S, Loge JH (2003) Quality of life in palliative care: principles and practice. Palliat Med 17(1):11–20
Bahrami M (2011) Meanings and aspects of quality of life for cancer patients: a descriptive exploratory qualitative study. Contemp Nurse 39(1):75–84
Beatty L. Koczwara K. Tracey D (2008) The psychosocial concerns and needs of women recently diagnosed with breast cancer: a qualitative study of patient, nurse and volunteer perspectives. Blackwell Publishing Ltd Health Expectations 11: 331–342
Vos PJ, Garssen B, Visser AP (2004) Duiven voorden HJ, de Haes HCJM. Early stage breast cancer: explaining level of psychosocial adjustment using structural equation modeling. J Behav Med 27:557–580
Coons JC, Battistone S (2008) Guideline update for unstable angina/non–ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: focus on antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapies. Ann Pharmacother 42(7–8):989–1001
Stark D, House A (2002) Anxiety in cancer patients. Br J Cancer 83:1261–1267
VonEssen L, Larsson F, Oberg K, Sjoden P (2002) ‘Satisfaction with care’: associations with health-related quality of life and psychosocial function among Swedish patients with endocrine gastrointestinal tumours. Eur J Cancer Care 11(2):91–99
Lazarus RS, Folkman S (1984) "Stress". Appraisal and coping, New York
Gilber O, Zusman A (2007) The correlation between coping strategies, patients/spouse- doctor relationships and psychological distress among women cancer patients and their spouse. Wiley Inter Sci 18:1010–1018
Freedland KE, Rich MW, Skala JA, Carney RM, Dávila-román VG, Jaffe AS (2003) Prevalence of depression in hospitalized patients with congestive heart failure. Psychosom Med 65:119–128
Frasure-Smith N, Lespérance F (2006) Recent evidence linking coronary heart disease and depression. Can J Psychiatr 51:730–737
Chen PY, Chang HC (2012) The coping process of patients with cancer. Eur J Oncol Nurs 16:10–16
MacDonald BH (2001) Quality of life in cancer care: patients’ experiences and nurses’ contribution. Eur J Oncol Nurs 5(1):32–41
Hamdan-Mansour A (2010) Predictors of hostility among university students in Jordan. Scand J Caring SCI 24(1):125–130
Hamdan-Mansour A, Halabi J, Dawani H (2009) Depression, hostility, and substance use among university students in Jordan. Ment Health Subst Use Dual Diagn 2(1):53–64
Brislin RW (1970) Back translation for the cross-cultural research. J Cross Cult Res 1:185–216
Zimet GD, Dahlem NW, Zimet SG, Farley GK (1988) The multidimensional scale of perceived social support. J Pers Assess 52:30–41
Lemyre L, Tessier R, Eillion L (1990) Mesure du stress psychotogique (MSP): Manuel d’utilisation, Brossard, Quebec: Ed
Carver CS (1977) You want to measure coping but your protocol’s too long: consider the Brief COPE.”. Inter J Behav Med 4:92–100
Diener E, Emmons RA, Larsen RJ, Griffin S (1985) The satisfaction with life scale. J Pers Assess 49:71–75
Beck G, Steer R, Brown G (1996) Manual for the beck depression inventory-II. Psychological Corporation, San Antonio
Doumit J, Nasser R (2010) Quality of life and wellbeing of the elderly in Lebanese nursing homes. Inter J Health Care 23(1):72–93
Honyashiki M, Ferri CP, Acosta D, Guerra M, Huang Y (2011) Chronic diseases among older people and co-resident psychological morbidity: a 10/66 Dementia research group population-based survey. Inter Psychogeriatr Assoc 23(9):1489–1501
Dubey A, Agarwal A (2007) Coping strategies and life satisfaction: chronically ill patients’ perspectives. J Indian Acad Appl Psychol 33(2):161–168
Cohen S, Underwood L, Benjamin G (eds) (2000) Social support measurement and intervention: a guide for health and social scientists. Oxford University Press, New York
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hamdan-Mansour, A.M., Al Abeiat, D.D., Alzoghaibi, I.N. et al. Psychosocial and Sociodemographic Correlates of Life Satisfaction Among Patients Diagnosed with Cancer in Jordan. J Canc Educ 30, 31–36 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-014-0678-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-014-0678-y