Good for Coping, Not for Eudaimonia: The Effectiveness of a Spiritual/Religious Intervention in the Healthcare of Breast Cancer Patients

This study examined the effectiveness of a spiritual/religious intervention on religious coping and eudaimonic psychological well-being in breast cancer survivors. A quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-tests and a control group was used to study 60 Iranian breast cancer patients. The 14-item Brief RCOPE and the Ryff's 6-Dimensional Psychological Well-Being Scales were administered at baseline and follow-up. An analysis of covariance revealed that spiritual/religious intervention was effective in increasing positive religious coping and reducing negative religious coping but not in increasing psychological well-being. Implications of the findings for the healthcare of women with breast cancer are discussed.