Appraisals of cancer, religious/spiritual coping, and hope in patients with colorectal cancer

Purpose/Objectives To examine the extent to which religious/spiritual coping moderates the association between stress appraisals and hope among patients with colorectal cancer. Design/Research Approach A longitudinal, prospective examination of hope, stress appraisals of cancer, and religious/spiritual coping through self-report questionnaires at baseline, 6-months, and 12-months post-surgery. Sample/Participants One hundred thirty-nine newly diagnosed patients with colorectal cancer recruited from tertiary medical centers. Findings Challenge and threat appraisals predicted hope. Only the relationship between hope and challenge appraisals was significantly moderated by coping through religion/spirituality, such that those who were both low on challenge and low in religious/spiritual coping reported the lowest hope. Conclusions/Interpretation Hope is predicted by how people appraise their cancer. Hope was lowest among participants who reported both low challenge appraisals and religious/spiritual coping. Implications for Psychosocial Providers Understanding how patients appraise their cancer and use religion/spirituality to cope may help providers understand which patients are at risk for low hope.