Influence of Social Support and Coping Strategies on Post-traumatic Growth in Cancer Patients

Negative and stressful psychological effects in the aftermath of any trauma are a common notion but despite those negative effects individual may also develop positive psychological changes and growth (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996, 2004). The purpose of study was to investigate the relationship between social support, coping strategies and post traumatic growth in a sample group of cancer patients. The sample of 286 cancer patients was selected purposively from Department of Radiation Oncology, Government Medical College and Associated Hospitals, Karan Nagar, Srinagar, Florence Hospital, Chanapora Srinagar, Noora Hospital, Zainakote, Srinagar. The participants completed the sample survey packets comprised of ‘Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & Farley, 1988), Brief Cope, (Carver, 1997), and ‘Post Traumatic Growth Inventory-Short-Form, Cann et. Al. 2010). The results revealed that Social Support and Adaptive Coping Strategies are significantly correlated with Post-Traumatic Growth (r =.32, p <.001 & r =.35, p <.001 respectively). However, the correlation between Passive Coping Strategies and Post-Traumatic Growth was found insignificant (r =.05, p =.40). The results also revealed that Social Support and Adaptive Coping Strategies are significantly and positively correlated (r =.42, p <.001) and Social Support and Passive Coping Strategies are significantly and negatively correlated (r =-.13, p <.05). Multiple Regression Analysis was applied to investigate the degree to which PTG could be explained by the Social Support and Adaptive Coping Strategies. The results revealed that Social Support (β =.22, p <.001) and Adaptive Coping Strategies (β =.26, p <.001) could predict 16% of the variance (R2 =.16; F (2, 283) = 18.03, p <.001) in the Model of Post-Traumatic Growth in Cancer Patients.