Psychosocial resource variables in cancer studies : conceptual and measurement issues

227 Pages·2013·4.768 MB·English

by  Curbow, Barbara, Somerfield, Mark R

Psychosocial Resource
Variables
in Cancer Studies
Conceptual
and Measurement Issues
Barbara Curbow, PhD
Mark R. Somerfield, PhD
Editors
Psychosocial
Resource Variables
in Cancer Studies:
Conceptual
and Measurement Issues

Psychosocial
Resource Variables
in Cancer Studies:
Conceptual
and Measurement Issues
Barbara Curbow, PhD
Mark R. Somerfield, PhD
Editors
Routledge
Taylor & Francis Group
New York London
First published by
The Haworth Medical Press, 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580 USA
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Psychosocial Resource Variables in Cancer Studies: Conceptual and Measurement Issues has also
been published as Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, Volume 13, Numbers 1/2 1995.
© 1995 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Psychosocial Resource variables in cancer studies : conceptual and measurement issues / Barbara
Curbow, Mark R. Somerfield, editors.
p. cm. — (Journal of psychosocial oncology ; v. 13, no. 1/2)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-56024-758-4 (alk. paper)
1. Cancer-Psychological aspects. 2. Cancer-Social aspects. I. Curbow, Barbara. II. Somer­
field, Mark R. HI. Series.
[DNLM: 1. Neoplasms-psychology. 2. Research. 3. Adaptation, Psychological W1
J0858VC v. 13 no. 1/2 1995 / QZ 200 P97557 1995] RC262P788 1995
616.99'4'-0019~dc20
DNLM/DLC
for Library of Congress 95-23013
CIP
ABOUT THE EDITORS
Barbara Curbow, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Social and
Behavioral Sciences in the Department of Health Policy and Manage­
ment at The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public
Health. She holds joint appointments in the Department of Psychol­
ogy and the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the
same institution. Dr. Curbow received a BA in political science, an
MA in educational psychology from the University of California at
Santa Barbara, and a doctorate in social psychology from the Univer­
sity of California at Santa Cruz. Upon completing her graduate train­
ing, she was a NIMH-funded postdoctoral fellow in the Program in
Social Ecology at the University of California at Irvine. She has been
involved in psychosocial oncology research since the early 1980s and
has published articles on a wide range of personal resource variables,
including self-concept, self-esteem, coping, and optimism. Her cur­
rent research interests include quality of life following medical treat­
ment, treatment decision-making, the work-family intersection, and
women’s health. Dr. Curbow is on the editorial board of the Journal of
Psychosocial Oncology.
Mark R. Somerfield, PhD, is a Research Associate on the Faculty of
Social and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of
Hygiene and Public Health, and a member of the collaborating Fac­
ulty of the Center for Adolescent Health Promotion and Disease Pre­
vention at the same institution. He received a BA in psychology from
Millersville University of Pennsylvania, an MS in psychology from
Villanova University, and a doctorate in public health psychology
from The Johns Hopkins University. After completing his training,
Dr. Somerfield was a Geropsychology Fellow at the Gerontology
Research Center, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of
Health, and the American Psychological Association before return­
ing to Johns Hopkins. He has been involved in psychosocial oncology
research for approximately 10 years. His particular interests in this
area include quality-of-life assessment, cancer and the self, coping
with cancer, and research methodology in psychosocial oncology. Dr.
Somerfield has published extensively on conceptual and method­
ological issues in research on coping with cancer, and he recently co­
authored a chapter on personality and coping for Handbook of Cop­
ing edited by M. Zeidner and N. S. Endler.
Psychosocial Resource Variables
in Cancer Studies:
Conceptual and Measurement Issues
CONTENTS
Introduction I
Barbara Curbow, PhD
Mark R. Some/field, PhD
Applications of Perceived Control to Cancer:
An Overview of Theory and Measurement 11
Suzanne C. Thompson, PhD
Mary A. Collins, PhD
Background 12
Current Issues in Theory and Research 14
Measures of Psychological Control 16
Additional Methodological Issues 19
Clinical Applications 22
Conclusion 23
Exploring Relationships Between Cancer, Coping,
and Mental Health 27
Michael Parle, MPsychol
Peter Maguire, MD
Establishing a Scientific Definition of Coping 28
Cancer as the Stimulus for Coping 32
Measurement 34
Recent Research 40
Looking Forward 45
Conclusion 47
Religion and Spirituality as Resources for Coping
with Cancer 51
Richard A. Jenkins, PhD
Kenneth I. Pargament, PhD
Tensions with Psychosocial Research and Practice 53
Religion and Adaptation 55
Religion and Spirituality in Research 63
Religion and Spirituality in Clinical Practice 67
The Role of Social Support in Adaptation to Cancer
and to Survival 75
Christina G. Blanchard, MSW, PhD
Terrance L. Albrecht, PhD
John C. Ruckdeschel, MD, FACP
Charles H. Grant III, MA
Rebecca Malcolm Hemmick, MA
Definitions and Overview 76
Review of Selected Literature 79
Conclusions and Future Directions 91
Family Functioning as a Resource Variable
in Psychosocial Cancer Research: Issues and Measures 97
Patricia A. Fobair, MSW, MPH
James R. Zabora, MSW
Role of Family Functioning in Research 98
Definitions and Measures of Family Functioning 98
Family Functioning as a Resource Variable 107
Discussion 109
Conclusions 110
Commentary 115
David Spiegel, MD
Assessment of Psychological Functioning
in Cancer Patients 123
Carolyn Cook Gotay, PhD
Jeffrey D. Stern, MA
Method 125
Overview of the Selected Scales 137
Discussion 147
Psychosocial Resource Variables in Cancer Research:
Statistical and Analytical Considerations 161
Steven J. Breckler, PhD
Test Construction, Reliability, and Validity 162
Statistical Power Analysis 163
Cut Points Imposed on Quantitative Measures 165
Correlations Represent Linear Relationships 168
Moderators and Mediators 170
Multivariate Statistical Considerations 172
Conclusion 174
The Use of Qualitative Methods to Strengthen
Psychosocial Research on Cancer 177
Nancy Waxler-Morrison, PhD
Richard Doll, MSW, MSc
T. Gregory His lop, MDCM
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Methods 179
Understanding of Non-Cancer-Related Illness 180
Understanding Psychosocial Factors in Cancer 182
Practical Issues 185
Discussion 188
Index 193