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. 2012 Sep;11(3):212-20.
doi: 10.1177/1534735411416456. Epub 2011 Sep 30.

The role of religion and spirituality in psychological distress prior to surgery for urologic cancer

Kelly Biegler  1 , Lorenzo Cohen, Shellie Scott, Katherine Hitzhusen, Patricia Parker, Chelsea D Gilts, Andrea Canada, Louis Pisters
Affiliations

The role of religion and spirituality in psychological distress prior to surgery for urologic cancer

Kelly Biegler et al. Integr Cancer Ther. 2012 Sep.

Abstract

The present study examined the associations between religion and spirituality (R/S), presurgical distress, and other psychosocial factors such as engagement coping, avoidant coping, and social support. Participants were 115 men scheduled for surgery for urologic cancer. Before surgery, participants completed scales measuring intrinsic religiosity, organized religious activity, and nonorganized religious activity (IR, ORA, NORA); social support (Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey); and distress (Impact of Event Scale [IES], Perceived Stress Scale [PSS], Brief Symptom Inventory-18 [BSI-18], and Profile of Mood States [POMS]). R/S was positively associated with engagement coping. Social support was positively associated with engagement coping and inversely associated with POMS and PSS scores. Engagement coping was positively associated with IES and BSI scores, and avoidant coping was positively associated with all distress measures. R/S moderated the association between engagement coping and IES scores, such that the association between engagement coping and IES was not significant for men with high R/S scores (greater religious belief). R/S moderated the association between social support and distress; the inverse association between social support and PSS and POMS scores was only significant for men who scored high on R/S. This study replicated findings from previous studies suggesting that engagement and avoidant types of coping can lead to increased distress prior to surgery. Although R/S was associated with engagement coping, it was not associated with any of the distress measures. The finding that R/S moderated the associations between engagement coping and distress and social support and distress suggests that the association between R/S, coping style, social support, and adjustment to stressful life situations is not simplistic, and indirect associations should be explored.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Association between engagement coping and IES moderated by R/S Abbreviations: R/S, religion and spirituality; IES, Impact of Event Scale.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association between social support and PSS moderated by R/S Abbreviations: R/S, religion and spirituality; PSS, Perceived Stress Scale.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Association between social support and POMS moderated by R/S Abbreviations: R/S, religion and spirituality; POMS, Profile of Moods States.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Association between education and PSS moderated by R/S Abbreviations: R/S, religion and spirituality; PSS, Perceived Stress Scale.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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