SELF-EFFICACY AND ADJUSTMENT IN CANCER-PATIENTS - A PRELIMINARY-REPORT

The relation between cancer self-efficacy and patient cancer adjustmen t, depression, psychological distress, and behavioral dysfunction in 4 2 cancer patients was studied in a preliminary investigation. Particip ants were male cancer outpatients recruited from a Veterans Administra tion Medical Center who completed a Cancer Self-Efficacy Scale, the Ce nter for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale, the Affect Balance Scale. and the Sickness Impact Profile. Correlational analyses indicat ed that self-efficacy was related to all adjustment measures. Regressi on analyses revealed that when age, education, time since initial diag nosis, and current disease status were controlled, the relationships b etween patient self-efficacy expectations and cancer adjustment, psych ological distress, negative affect, positive affect, and behavioral dy sfunction remained statistically significant. Taken together the resul ts of the analyses suggested that patient expectancies about control o ver cancer-related symptoms were related to several important aspects of patient functioning. The results underscored the need for further i nvestigation of this construct in cancer patients.