The Meaning of Hope for Polish Male Patients Dying from Cancer Depending on Their Age: An Interdisciplinary Study with the Use of Osgood’s Semantic Differential Method

Abstract

Background/Objectives: The subject of this article is the reflection on hope—one of the most important predictors and motivators of human actions. Hope is our response to a threat, and it is also the emotion that allows us to overcome hopelessness and to reduce suffering. Hoping is a human capacity with varying cognitive, emotional, and functional dimensions. Psychological, pedagogical (particularly in the framework of special-needs pedagogy and thanatological pedagogy), and theological reflection on hope can be helpful for dying people. The objective of this study was to characterize hope in the semantic space of individuals in the terminal stage of cancer and to verify whether age is a variable that determines this hope. Methods: To complete the study, the Osgood semantic differential method was applied, as modified by Polish psychologist Dr. Boguslaw Block (the DSN-3 test). The research technique consisted of a therapeutic conversation. Results: Research results show that, in general, those in the terminal stage have positive associations with hope. In all three aspects of the used test, namely the cognitive, emotional, and functional aspects, the highest scores assigned to the perception of hope were obtained from men up to 35 years of age. Depending on the ages of patients, one could observe certain semantic shifts, but they did not prove to be statistically significant. Conclusions: Polish males surveyed at the end of life due to cancer generally perceived hope as a supportive force. Therefore, hope can provide emotional support to patients in the terminal stage of cancer and improve their quality of life.