Social support for patients with prostate cancer: The effect of support groups

Questionnaires were administered to 234 patients with prostate cancer (142 attended support groups, 92 did not) to determine their sources of emotiona l, informational, and practical support and the relationship between their satisfaction with this support and their self-reports of coping and quality of life. Attenders were significantly more likely to cite other patients a s sources of all three types of support. Furthermore, attenders cited fello w patients as their most helpful source of informational support, whereas n onattenders cited medical staff. Satisfaction with social support was signi ficantly correlated with coping and quality of life. No significant differe nces were found between attenders and nonattenders regarding coping, qualit y of life, or satisfaction with the three types of support. The results are interpreted according to individual differences in how the patients satisf ied their needs for support. [Article copies available for a fee from The H aworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: < getitif o@haworthpressinc.com > TVebsite: < http://www.HaworthPress.com > (C) 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]