Author(s)

Elisa Kern de Castro, Clarissa Ponciano, Bruna Meneghetti, Marina Kreling, Carolina Chem

Santa Rita Hospital, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Sinos Valley University, S?o Leopoldo, Brazil.

Quality of life (QoL) has been considered worthy of assessment in the treatment, prevention and rehabili- tation of cancer patients. As it has a psychological dimension, is important to investigate the relationship between quality of life and psychological concepts like self-efficacy and psychological well-being. Ob- jective of the present study is to examine the QoL, self-efficacy and psychological well-being in adults with cancer. Methods: 50 patients completed self-report questionnaires: WHOQOL-bref, General Self- Efficacy Scale and GHQ-12 in two periods (T1 = timeline; T2 = follow up 1 year later). A paired t-test did not identify significant differences in the QoL self-efficacy and psychological well-being between T1 and T2. However, men had a better overall QoL and in the physical and social dimensions, and psycho- logical well-being in T1 compared with the women. In T2 there were significant differences between men and women only in the social and psychological dimensions of the QoL. The self-efficacy in T2 was the only predictive variable of the QoL in T2, explaining 71.9% of its variance. It is concluded that, in the pe- riod of one year, the QoL, psychological well-being and self-efficacy were stable, but gender differences were identified. The variables measured in T1 were incapable of predicting the QoL in T2. The gender differences found in QoL and psychological well-being can be used to guide specific future interventions with these patients.

Cancer; Oncology; Quality of Life; Self-Efficacy; Well-Being; Longitudinal Study

Castro, E. , Ponciano, C. , Meneghetti, B. , Kreling, M. & Chem, C. (2012). Quality of Life, Self-Efficacy and Psychological Well-Being in Brazilian Adults with Cancer: A Longitudinal Study. Psychology, 3, 304-309. doi: 10.4236/psych.2012.34043.