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Supportive Care in Cancer

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01-10-2018 | Original Article

Predicting symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients living with advanced cancer: the differential roles of hope and optimism

Authors: Ian C. Fischer, Larry D. Cripe, Kevin L. Rand

Published in: Supportive Care in Cancer | Issue 10/2018

Abstract

Purpose

Psychological distress is related to poorer functioning and reduced quality of life in patients with advanced cancer and may have untoward influences on treatment decisions. Current research on factors associated with this distress is limited, making targeted interventions to reduce it suboptimal. We examined the relationships between two goal-related expectancies and two of the most common symptoms of psychological distress in patients living with advanced cancer: anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Methods

Patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, or melanoma (N = 84) completed measures of anxiety, depressive symptoms, optimism, hope, and prediction for 12-month survival. Oncologists provided prediction for patient 12-month survival and patient performance status.

Results

Hope, but not optimism, was associated with less severe depressive symptoms (β = − 0.42). Conversely, optimism, but not hope, was associated with less severe anxiety symptoms (β = − 0.36).

Conclusions

Hope and optimism appear to be associated with different aspects of psychological distress in patients living with advanced cancer. This may be explained by different appraisals of the uncertainty and distress that are associated with living with advanced-stage cancer. Hope- or optimism-focused interventions can be tailored to help alleviate specific aspects of psychological distress among these patients.

We believe it is important to point out that, while higher hope is correlated with lower depressive symptoms (Snyder et al. 1991), this is not because hope and hopelessness are two conceptualizations of the same depressive symptom (and thus any observed association results from criterion contamination). In fact, despite the lexical similarities between the names of the hope and hopelessness constructs, research has shown them to be structurally and conceptually distinct [40]. Conceptually, hopelessness is more similar to pessimism, whereas hope is a trait belief about one’s ability to achieve important goals.

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Title: Predicting symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients living with advanced cancer: the differential roles of hope and optimism
Authors: Ian C. Fischer
Larry D. Cripe
Kevin L. Rand
Publication date: 01-10-2018
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Supportive Care in Cancer / Issue 10/2018
Print ISSN: 0941-4355
Electronic ISSN: 1433-7339
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-018-4215-0

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Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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