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. 2024 May 23;12(1):2351936.
doi: 10.1080/21642850.2024.2351936. eCollection 2024.

Hope, meaning in life and religious/spiritual struggle predicts the quality of life in cancer patients with early and advanced malignancy: a structural equation modeling approach

Fauzia Nazam  1 , Akbar Husain  2
Affiliations

Hope, meaning in life and religious/spiritual struggle predicts the quality of life in cancer patients with early and advanced malignancy: a structural equation modeling approach

Fauzia Nazam et al. Health Psychol Behav Med. .

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined hope, meaning in life (MIL), and religious/spiritual struggle (RSS) as predictors of the quality of life (QOL) in cancer patients. We hypothesized a positive association of QOL with hope and MIL, whereas a negative association with RSS. The stage of cancer was hypothesized as a moderator variable between QOL and hope. Hope and MIL were assumed as positive predictors and RSS as negative predictor of QOL.

Methods: Data stem from the cross-sectional survey study of 300 cancer patients (Mean age = 50.97 ± 13.50 SD). Herth Hope Index, Meaning in Life Scale, Religious Spiritual Struggle Scale and WHO-QOL-BRIEF were used. The correlation coefficient and partial least square structural equation modeling approach (PLS-SEM) were used for assessing the measurement model and the structural model.

Results: As hypothesized, QOL was found positively associated with Hope and MIL, but negatively associated with RSS. The stage of cancer was hypothesized as a negative moderator. The three predictors significantly predicted QOL in cancer patients and explained 75.3% of the variance in QOL, and the overall model fit was adequate (SRMR = 0.075). Hope and MIL had a positive impact on QOL (β = .356, p < 0.01; β = .355 p < 0.01, respectively), whereas RSS had a negative impact (β = -.102, p < .05). The Stage of cancer did not moderate the path coefficient between the hope and QOL to a significant degree (β = .097, p > 0.01).

Conclusion: In cancer patients, hope and MIL are facilitators of QOL. Addressing religious and spiritual concerns and struggles is critical to overall QOL improvement.

Keywords: Hope; cancer patients; meaning in life; quality of life; religious/spiritual struggle.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Figures

A diagram with a white background and with outlined boxes connected with blue arrows. It illustrates that the construct (hope, meaning in life, religious or spiritual struggle) contributes to the quality of life, where the cancer stage moderates the association of hope and quality of life.
Figure 1.
Theoretical framework of the constructs.
The diagram shows a network of connected nodes representing the dimension of the constructs, branching out to various blue nodes labeled as hope, meaning in life, religious or spiritual struggle, and the quality of life with a central green node labeled as moderation effect of the cancer stage.
Figure 2.
Path Model and Coefficient of Determination.
The diagram consists of multiple blue circles and one central green circle. Each circle represents a different statistical term or value related to t-statistics. The circles are interconnected by lines, indicating relationships between these terms.
Figure 3.
t-statistics for the model.
The figure highlights the predictive relevance of the three exogenous constructs (hope, meaning in life, and religious/spiritual struggle) for the endogenous construct (quality of life).
Figure 4.
Predictive relevance of the model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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