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Multicenter Study
. 2022 Jul 28;17(7):e0269712.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269712. eCollection 2022.

Stoic attitude in patients with cancer from the NEOcoping study: Cross-sectional study

David Gomez  1 , Alberto Carmona-Bayonas  2 , Raquel Hernandez  3 , Oliver Higuera  4 , Jacobo Rogado  5 , Vilma Pacheco-Barcia  6 , María Valero  7 , Mireia Gil-Raga  8 , M Mar Muñoz  9 , Rafael Carrión-Galindo  10 , Paula Jimenez-Fonseca  11 , Caterina Calderon  12
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Stoic attitude in patients with cancer from the NEOcoping study: Cross-sectional study

David Gomez et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Aim: Stoicism has been applied to describe a wide range of behaviors in the face of disease and influences an individual's use of coping strategies. This study tested the relationship between stoicism and social support, optimism, psychological distress, and coping strategies in patients with cancer.

Method: NEOcoping is a multicenter, cross-sectional study. Participants' data were collected using a standardized, self-report form and LSS, MSPSS, Mini-MAC, BSI-18, and LOT-R questionnaires. Linear regression analyses were used to assess the association between stoicism and distress scores in both genders. A total of 932 individuals with non-metastatic, resected cancer were recruited.

Results: Males perceived a higher risk of recurrence and toxicity with adjuvant chemotherapy and obtained higher stoic attitude scores than females. Women scored higher on somatization, depression, and anxiety. Patients with high stoicism scores were older and experienced more maladaptive coping (helplessness, anxious preoccupation), and depression, while those with lower stoicism scores had greater perceived social support, optimism, and positive attitude. In both males and females, stoicism correlated negatively with perceived social support, optimism, and positive attitude, and positively with helplessness, anxious preoccupation, and depression. In men, stoicism was directly and negatively associated with social support and optimism, and positively with anxious preoccupation. In women, stoicism was positively associated. In women, stoicism was directly and negatively associated with social support and positively with age and optimism. Stoicism was directly and positively associated with helplessness.

Discussion: A stoic attitude was associated with lower social support, reduced optimism, and passive coping strategies (helplessness and anxious preoccupation) in this series of patients with cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

he authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Tested study model: Relationship between stoicism and psychological variables in men.
Note: Dashed lines indicate statistically non-significant paths. *p<0.01; **p<0.001.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Tested study model: Relationship between stoicism and psychological variables in women.
Note: Dashed lines indicate statistically non-significant paths. *p<0.01; **p<0.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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