Abstract

PAULA JUNIOR, Wanderley de  and  ZANINI, Daniela Sacramento. Coping strategies of cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy treatment. Psic.: Teor. e Pesq. [online]. 2011, vol.27, n.4, pp. 491-497. ISSN 0102-3772.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-37722011000400013.

This study analyzes stress, coping strategies, resilience and subjective well-being of cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Sixty subjects, between 26 to 82 years old (20 man and 40 woman), answered the Subjective Well-Being Scale, the Resilience and the Stress Symptoms Inventory and the Coping Response Inventory - Adult Form (CRI-A). The results showed that the use of approach coping strategies is associated with a higher level of resilience and with positive affect, while using avoidant coping strategies can lead to an increased perception of negative affect and to a lower report of positive affect. The results of this study suggest that coping strategies are related to resilience factors and can interfere with the subjective well-being of cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy treatment.

Keywords : cancer; radiotherapy; coping.