Top

Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings

Published in:

01-03-2006

The Relationship of Religiosity and Spirituality to Quality of Life Among Cancer Patients

Authors: A. Elizabeth Rippentrop, Elizabeth M. Altmaier, C. Patrick Burns

Published in: Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings | Issue 1/2006

Abstract

Most quality of life (QOL) assessments measure patients’ emotional well-being, functional well-being, interpersonal/social well-being, and satisfaction with treatment. Little attention has been given to patients’ spirituality or religiosity. Further, studies that have examined the impact of spirituality or religiosity on QOL have not differentiated between the constructs. The purpose of this study was to examine religiosity and spirituality as separate variables, and to define their relationship to QOL for 61 persons with cancer. Regression analyses indicated that, while spirituality and religiosity are moderately intercorrelated, spirituality has a stronger relationship with QOL than religiosity. When attempting to understand a person's spiritual life and its impact on QOL, there is a need for clear distinction between and separate assessment of spirituality and religiosity.

American Cancer Society. (2005). Statistics. [Online]. Available: http://www.cancer.org [2005, April].

Borman, P. D., & Nicholas, D. R. (1999, August). Spirituality, religiosity, and the quality of life of oncology patients. Paper presented at the Meeting of the American Psychological Association, Boston, MA.

Brady, M. J., Peterman, A. H., Fitchett, G., Mo, M., & Cella, D. (1999). A case for including spirituality in quality of life measurement in oncology. Psycho-Oncology, 8, 417–428.CrossRefPubMed

Bufford, R. K., Paloutzian, R. F., & Ellison, C. W. (1991). Norms for the spiritual well-being scale. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 19, 56–70.

Burish, T. G., & Lyles, J. N. (1981). Effectiveness of relaxation training in reducing adverse reactions to cancer chemotherapy. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4, 65–78.CrossRefPubMed

Cella, D. F., Jacobsen, P. B., Orav, E. J., Holland, J. C., Silberfarb, P. M., & Rafla, S. (1987). A brief POMS measure of distress for cancer patients. Journal of Chronic Disease, 40, 939–942.CrossRef

Cella, D. F., Tulsky, D. S., Gray, G., Sarafian, B., Linn, E., Bonomi, A., et al. (1993). The functional assessment of cancer therapy scale: Development and validation of the general measure. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 11, 1–10.PubMed

Cotton, S. P., Levine, E. G., Fitzpatrick, C. M., Dold, K. H., & Targ, E. (1999). Exploring the relationships among spiritual well-being, quality of life, and psychological adjustment in women with breast cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 8, 429–438.CrossRefPubMed

Donovan, K., Sanson-Fisher, R. W., & Redman, S. (1989). Measuring quality of life in cancer patients. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 7, 959–968.PubMed

Elkins, D. N., Hedstrom, L. J., Hughes, L. L., Leaf, J. A., & Saunders, C. (1988). Toward a humanistic phenomenological spirituality. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 28, 5–18.CrossRef

Ferrans, C. E. (1994). Quality of life through the eyes of survivors of breast cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 21, 1645–1651.PubMed

Ferrell, B. R., Dow, K. H., Leigh, S., Ly, J., & Gulasekaram, P. (1995). Quality of life in long-term cancer survivors. Oncology Nursing Forum, 22, 915–922.PubMed

Fitchett, G., Peterman, A., & Cella, D. F. (1996). Spiritual beliefs and quality of life in cancer and HIV patients. Paper presented at the Society for Scientific Study of Religion, Nashville, TN.

George, L. K., Larson, D. B., Koenig, H. G., & McCullough, M. E. (2000). Spirituality and health: What we know, what we need to know. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19, 102–116.

Greenlee, R. T., Hill-Harmon, M. B., Murray, T., & Thun, M. (2001). Cancer statistics, 2001. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 51, 15–36.CrossRef

Hoge, D. R. (1972). A validated intrinsic religious motivation scale. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 11, 369–376.CrossRef

Holland, J. C., Kash, K. M., Passik, S., Gronert, M. K., Sison, A., Lederberg, M., et al. (1999). The role of religious and spiritual beliefs in coping with malignant melanoma. Psycho-Oncology, 8, 14–26.CrossRefPubMed

Jenkins, R. A., & Pargament, K. I. (1995). Religion and spirituality as resources for coping with cancer. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 13, 51–74.CrossRef

Kaczorowski, J. W. (1989). Spiritual well-being and anxiety in adults diagnosed with cancer. Hospice Journal, 5, 105–116.CrossRefPubMed

Koenig, H., Parkerson, G. R., & Meador, K. G. (1997). Religion index for psychiatric research. American Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 885–886.

Kornblith, A. B., & Holland, J. C. (Eds.). (1994). Handbook of measures of psychological, social and physical function in cancer: Vol 1. Quality of life. New York: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Larson, D., Swyers, J., & McCullough, M. (Eds.). (1997). Scientific research on spirituality and health: A consensus report. Rockville, MD: National Institute for Healthcare Research.

Levin, J. S. (1994). Religion and health: Is there an association, is it valid, and is it causal? Social Science and Medicine, 38, 1475–1482.CrossRefPubMed

Ley, D. C. H., & Corless, I. B. (1988). Spirituality and hospice care. Death Studies, 12, 101–110.PubMedCrossRef

Mickley, J. R., Soeken, K., & Belcher, A. (1992). Spiritual well-being, religiousness and hope among women with breast cancer. IMAGE: Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 24, 267–272.CrossRef

Musick, M. A., Koenig, H. G., Larson, D. B., & Matthews, D. (1998). Religion and spiritual beliefs. In J. Holland (Ed.), Psycho-oncology (pp. 780–789). New York: Oxford University Press.

Peterman, A. H., Fitchett, G., Brady, M. J., Hernandez, L., & Cella, D. (2002). Measuring spiritual well-being in people with cancer: The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-Sp). Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 24, 49–58.CrossRefPubMed

Reed, P. G. (1987). Spirituality and well-being in terminally ill hospitalized adults. Research in Nursing and Health, 10, 335–344.PubMedCrossRef

Schipper, H., Clinch, J., McMurray, A., & Leavitt, M. (1984). Measuring the quality of life of cancer patients: The Functional Living Index-Cancer: Development and validation. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2, 472–483.PubMed

Simoni, J. M., Martone, M. G., & Kerwin, J. F. (2002). Spirituality and psychological adaptation among women with HIV/AIDS: Implications for counseling. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 49, 139–147.CrossRef

Strahan, R., & Gerbasi, K. C. (1972). Short homogeneous versions of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 28, 191–193.CrossRef

Thoresen, C., Bowman, E., Koopman, C., Yang, P., Dubs, G., & Speigel, D. (1995). Principles of living survey. Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University.

Thoresen, C. E. (1998). Spirituality, health, and science: The coming revival? In S. Roth-Roemer, S. R. Kurpius, & C. Carmin (Eds.), The emerging role of counseling psychology in health care (pp. 409–431). New York: Norton.

Zubrod, C. G., Schneiderman, M., Frei, E., et al. (1960). Appraisal of methods for the study of chemotherapy of cancer in man: Comparative therapeutic trial of nitrogen mustard and triethylene thisphosphoramide. Journal of Chronic Diseases, 11, 7–33.CrossRef

Title: The Relationship of Religiosity and Spirituality to Quality of Life Among Cancer Patients
Authors: A. Elizabeth Rippentrop
Elizabeth M. Altmaier
C. Patrick Burns
Publication date: 01-03-2006
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings / Issue 1/2006
Print ISSN: 1068-9583
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3572
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-005-9000-9

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

The Relationship of Religiosity and Spirituality to Quality of Life Among Cancer Patients

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2006

Camping Programs for Children with Chronic Illness as a Modality for Recreation, Treatment, and Evaluation: An Example of a Mission-Based Program Evaluation of a Diabetes Camp

Call for Papers: Case Presentation in the Practice of Clinical Psychology in Medical or HealthCare Settings

Depression in Women with Heart Disease: The Importance of Social Role Performance and Spirituality

Relationships Between Locus of Control, Coping Strategies and Emotional Well-Being in Persons with Spinal Cord Lesion

Feasibility of a Telephone Intervention for HIV Patients and Their Informal Caregivers

Utility of the Multidimensional Health Profile—Psychosocial Functioning Scales (MHP-P) for Assessing Psychosocial Adjustment in Gastric Bypass Surgery Patients