Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2015 Sep-Oct;38(5):375-82.
doi: 10.1097/NCC.0000000000000215.

Resilience, Positive Coping, and Quality of Life Among Women Newly Diagnosed With Gynecological Cancers

Sharon L Manne  1 , Shannon Myers-Virtue, Deborah Kashy, Melissa Ozga, David Kissane, Carolyn Heckman, Stephen C Rubin, Norman Rosenblum
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Resilience, Positive Coping, and Quality of Life Among Women Newly Diagnosed With Gynecological Cancers

Sharon L Manne et al. Cancer Nurs. 2015 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Background: Resilience has been linked to psychological adaptation to many challenging life events.

Objective: The goal was to examine 3 coping strategies--expressing positive emotions, positive reframing of the cancer experience, and cultivating a sense of peace and meaning in life--as potential mechanisms by which resilience translates to quality of life among women recently diagnosed with gynecological cancer.

Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized baseline data from women diagnosed with gynecological cancer participating in an ongoing randomized clinical trial (n = 281; mean age, 55 years; 80% were white). Participants completed measures of resilience, positive emotional expression, positive reappraisal, cultivating a sense of peace and meaning, and quality of life. Univariate and multiple mediation analyses were conducted.

Results: Greater resilience was related to higher quality of life (P < .001). Multiple mediation analyses indicated that the coping strategies, as a set, accounted for 62.6% of the relationship between resilience and quality of life. When considered as a set, cultivating a sense of peace and meaning had the strongest indirect effect (b = 0.281, SE = 0.073, P < .05).

Conclusion: The findings suggested that resilient women may report higher quality of life during gynecological cancer diagnosis because they are more likely to express positive emotions, reframe the experience positively, and cultivate a sense of peace and meaning in their lives.

Implications for practice: Interventions promoting a sense of purpose in one's life and facilitating expression of positive emotions may prove beneficial, particularly for women reporting higher levels of resilience.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no funding or conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure
Figure
Model of Resilience, Coping, and Quality of Life
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Block J, Kremen AM. IQ and ego-resiliency: conceptual and empirical connections and separateness. J Pers Social Psych. 1996;70(2):349–361. - PubMed
    1. Luthar SS, Cicchetti D, Becker B. The construct of resilience: a critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Devl. 2000;71(3):543–562. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Masten AS. Ordinary magic. Resilience processes in development. Am Psych. 2001;56(3):227–238. - PubMed
    1. Fredrickson BL. The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist. 2001;56(3):218–226. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Richardson GE. The metatheory of resilience and resiliency. J Clin Psych. 2002;58(3):307–321. - PubMed

Publication types