Emotional control, subjective happiness and personal satisfaction related to coping and adaptation in people with advanced cancer

Abstract

Coping Process theory and Roy Adaptation identifies strategies used by the person to respond to environmental influences and perceived changes so creating a human and environmental integration. The objective of this study was to identify the relationship between the individual variables -emotional control, vital satisfaction and subjective happiness- with the coping and adaptation of cancer in users with a diagnosed advanced cancer, which results contribute with the quality and integrated humanized care in Nursing. Method: A descriptive, transverse and correlate study was developed in 49 samples, enrolled until July 2013. Results: It showed that a 61,2% of the samples presented a great capacity of coping and adaptation. According to the spiritual dimension, a high percent of participants presented a high emotional control, specifically in sadness, with a medium control in the repression, anger and concern. A great percent demonstrated a higher subjective happiness and high satisfaction with their lives, existing a statistics significance between subjective happiness and between knowledge of the pathology with the degree of general capacity with the coping and adaptation. On the other hand, the sadness as a controlled emotion, showed a significance association with the factor 1 recursive and centred. As well, it presented a significance relation the sex and the factor 3 from the warning processes. As a conclusion, most participants in this study reflected a high and very high capacity to face the difficulties and problems, in this case, the advanced cancer. In general, the strategies used in the passive and active management adopted a favorable and positive attitude at the moment of taking decisions and solving problems, even in the changes of lifestyle. This shows the relevance in the incorporation of the spiritual dimension aspects of the users in order to get on provision of health quality with proper tools adapted to the social reality. Conclusion: some of the characteristics of individual variables demonstrated relationship with the degree of coping and adaptation of cancer as subjective happiness and emotional control of sadness.