Posttraumatic growth, meaning in life and life satisfaction among cancer treated patients

Oboljenje od raka predstavlja široki javnozdravstveni problem, a s obzirom na karakteristike bolesti često poprima obilježja traumatskog životnog iskustva. Međutim, suvremena psihoonkološka istraživanja naglašavaju i mogućnost pojave pozitivnih promjena uslijed oboljenja koje označavaju posttraumatski rast. Cilj je ovog istraživanja bio ispitati odrednice posttraumatskog rasta te njegov odnos s osobnim smislom i zadovoljstvom životom osoba liječenih od raka. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 149 osoba liječenih od različitih oblika raka koje posljednjih mjesec dana nisu bile podvrgnute medicinskim postupcima liječenja. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su da je 98% sudionika doživjelo bar jednu promjenu vezanu uz koncept posttraumatskog rasta, a ukupni intenzitet promjena bio je umjeren. Pritom su žene, mlađe osobe te osobe koje su tijekom saznavanja dijagnoze i liječenja percipirale viši intenzitet stresa sklonije doživljavanju promjena posttraumatskog rasta. Uspostavljenost emocionalne veze nije pokazana značajnom odrednicom posttraumatskog rasta. Pronađeni smisao u životu, traganje za smislom te zadovoljstvo životom statistički su značajno pozitivno povezani s posttraumatskim rastom. Dodatno, utvrđena je značajna pozitivna povezanost pronađenog životnog smisla i traganja za smislom sa zadovoljstvom životom. Rezultati su pokazali da osim direktne povezanosti posttraumatskog rasta i zadovoljstva životom, njihov se odnos može objasniti i putem pronađenog smisla u životu. Pritom je pronađeni smisao pokazan značajnim medijatorom odnosa posttraumatskog rasta i zadovoljstva životom. Zadovoljstvo životom značajno je više u skupini s visokim intenzitetom pronađenog smisla u odnosu na skupinu osoba niskog intenziteta pronađenog osobnog smisla. Takav efekt razlikovanja zadovoljstva životom nije značajan između skupina visokog i niskog intenziteta traganja za smislom. Također, pokazano je da ne postoji značajno djelovanje pronađenog životnog smisla na zadovoljstvo životom, ovisno o intenzitetu traganja za smislom.Cancer is a widespread public health problem, and due to its features, it is usually considered a traumatic life experience. However, contemporary psycho-oncological studies emphasize the possibility of the appearance of positive changes due to disease, which is widely known as posttraumatic growth. This study aimed to investigate the determinants of posttraumatic growth and its relation to the presence and search for meaning in life and life satisfaction among people cured of cancer. The study was conducted with 149 cancer survivors (105 women and 44 men) who were at least one-month post-completion of all medical cancer therapy. According to the results, 98% of participants experienced at least one positive change, and the overall intensity of change was moderate. Women, younger people and people who perceived a higher stress intensity when finding out the diagnosis, as well as during treatment, experienced higher posttraumatic growth. Being in an emotional relationship was not shown as a significant determinant of posttraumatic growth, while the presence of meaning, the search for meaning, and life satisfaction were significantly positively correlated with posttraumatic growth. Moreover, statistically significant positive correlations were found for the presence of meaning and life satisfaction, as well as for the search for meaning and life satisfaction. The results showed that the relationship that was obtained between posttraumatic growth and life satisfaction could also be explained by the mediation effect of the presence of meaning. More precisely, the participants that found more meaning in life showed higher life satisfaction compared to the participants that found less meaning in life. Such an effect was not present between the participants that are searching for the meaning in life more intensively and those that are searching less intensively. Also, the interaction effect of meaning in life and life satisfaction was not obtained