Table 3.
Details of studies of survival and recurrence
| Sample size | Coping style(s) (scale used) | Site of cancer | Outcomes included in study, length of follow up (No of deaths) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reynolds1 | 847 | Expressing/suppressing emotions, wishful thinking, problem solving, positive reappraisal, avoidance, escapism, “coping repertoire” | Breast | Survival: up to 9 years (218 deaths) |
| Greer,2 5 Pettingdale,3 4 | 69 | Denial, fighting spirit, stoic acceptance, helplessness/hopelessness | Breast | Survival: 5, 10, and 15 years (34, 36, 47 deaths respectively); recurrence |
| Morris6 | 168 | Denial, fighting spirit, anxious preoccupation, stoic acceptance, helplessness/hopelessness | Breast, lymphoma | Survival: up to 5 years (20 deaths); recurrence |
| Watson7 | 578 | Fighting spirit, helplessness/hopelessness, anxious preoccupation, fatalism, avoidance,48 emotional suppression | Breast | Survival: 5 years (133 deaths); recurrence |
| Brown8 | 426 | Active, distractive, and avoidant coping; adjustment to cancer | Early stage melanoma | Survival: 2 years (60 deaths); recurrence |
| Andrykowski13 | 42 | Fighting spirit, hopelessness/helplessness, anxious preoccupation, fatalism, avoidance48 | Leukaemia | Survival: median=2.2 months (27 deaths) |
| Cody14 | 209 | Fighting spirit, helplessness, anxiety, fatalism, avoidance48 | Lung | Survival: 8 weeks (deaths not stated) |
| Dean15 | 125 | Stoic acceptance, fighting spirit, denial, hopelessness/helplessness, anxious/ depressed51 | Breast | Survival: 6-8 years (22 deaths); recurrence |
| Giraldi16 | 95 | Fighting spirit, hopelessness, anxious preoccupation, fatalism48 | Breast | Survival: 6 years (15 deaths) |
| Murphy17 | 56 | Fighting spirit, helplessness, anxiety, fatalism, avoidance48 | Leukaemia, lymphoma, aplastic anaemia | Survival: mean=82 months (18 deaths) |
| Nordin18 19 | 139 | Fighting spirit, helplessness, anxious preoccupation, anxiety, fatalism, avoidance (MAC scale)48 | Colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, and biliary cancers | Survival: ⩽12 months (56 deaths) |
| Tschuschke20 | 52 | Passive reception/resignation, distraction, cognitive structuring, social contact, compliance, fighting spirit | Leukaemia | Survival: mean survival time=2.6 years (21 deaths) |
| Cassileth21 22 | 204 +155 | Hopelessness/helplessness, amount of adjustment required to cope with diagnosis | Pancreatic, gastric, lung, colorectal cancer, glioma, melanoma, or breast | Survival:1985—group I median survival 7 months; group II median 12 months to recurrence 1988—follow up at 3-8 years; recurrence |
| Molassiotis23 | 31 | Emotion focused coping, humour, withdrawal, acceptance, hopefulness52 | Haematological malignancies | Survival: 1-2 years (20 deaths) |
| Ringdal24 25 | 253 | Hopelessness54 | Breast, gastrointestinal, prostate, lung; lymphoma | Survival: mean survival time=17 months |
| Jensen26 | 86 | Defensiveness, helplessness/hopelessness, negative affect, chronic stress, and daydreaming | Breast | Recurrence: average follow up=624 days (11 deaths) |
| Butow27 | 125 | Active, distractive, avoidant coping | Metastatic melanoma | Survival: 2 years (deaths not stated) |
| Butow28 | 99 | Active, distractive and avoidant coping; adjustment to cancer (stigma/isolation, minimisation, anger) | Metastatic breast | Survival: 2 years (62 deaths) |
| Richardson29 | 139 | Behavioural and cognitive coping, including avoidance, information seeking, problem solving, affective regulation53 | Haematological malignancies, rectal | Survival: ⩽5 years (64 deaths) |
| Achté30 | 126 | Denial, repression | Not stated | Survival: up to 3 years (35 deaths) |
| Silberfarb31 | 290 | Denial of illness | Multiple myeloma | Survival: 2 years (deaths not stated) |
| Buddeberg34 35 36 37 | 107 | Depressive coping, distrust and pessimism, “regressive tendency,” self encouragement, distraction, self revalorisation, control of feelings and withdrawal, problem solving)56 57 | Breast | Survival: 3 years; 5-6 years; 10 years |
| Derogatis38 | 35 | Anxiety, depression, hostility, guilt, psychoticism, general psychological symptom severity index (defined by author as study of coping) | Breast | Survival: long term survivors (mean=23 months) v short term survivors (mean=9 months) (13 deaths) |
| Faller39 40 | 103 | Depressive coping, active coping, hope | Lung | Survival: up to 7 years |
| Hislop41 | 133 | Coping by change, by control, by stress | Breast | Survival: 4 years (26 deaths); recurrence |
| De Boer49 | 133 | Uncertainty regarding how to cope with illness, or emotions50 | Head, neck | Survival: 6 years (57deaths); recurrence |
| Schulz55 | 268 | Pessimism, optimism | Breast, lung, head, neck, gynaecological, other | Survival: 8 months |