Relationships Between Psychosocial Adjustment and Hopelessness in Women with Breast Cancer

Objective: Several physical, psychological and social variables influence women with breast cancer. This study was designed to analyze the relationship between psychosocial adjustment and hopelessness in a group of such women in Turkey. Method: The subjects were 90 women with breast cancer recruited at i Ege University School of Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology Nurse Counsellor Unit and Tulay Aktas Oncology Hospital Outpatient Chemotherapy Unit. Data were collected using an Introductory Information Form and Psychosocial Adjustment to the Illness Scale - Self-Report (PAIS-SR) and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) and analyzed by Pearson Correlation Analysis. Results: The mean age of the women was 49.4 +/- 11.0. It was found that the level of psychosocial adjustment of 63.3% of the women was "poor". A positive relationship was determined between PAIS-SR mean score and BHS mean score of the women with breast cancer (r=0.731, p<0.01). Conclusion: It was observed that as the psychosocial adjustment worsens, as the level of hopelessness of the women increases. In the light of this relationship, it was concluded that the attempts to increase hope and therefore the support for the psychosocial adjustment of patients should play a vital role in increasing their quality of life.