dispositional optimism, fatalism and quality of life in latino cancer patients

Abstract

The impact of dispositional optimism and fatalism on quality of life(QoL) domains in cancer patient populations has been extensivelystudied in the health literature. Optimism has been shown to be associatedwith better QoL and active coping strategies; however, few studieshave investigated these relationships in Latino cancer patient populations.Furthermore, although fatalism has been extensively studied in Latinopopulations in regards to lower cancer screening practices, avoidantcoping, and psychological distress, few studies have investigatedthe relationship between fatalism, acculturation, and QoL. Optimism,fatalism, acculturation, coping responses, and QoL outcomes wereexamined in 105 Latino cancer patients (40 men and 65 women) withsolid tumor diagnoses. The Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R;Scheier et al., 1994) was utilized to measure optimism. PowerfulOthers (PHLC) and Chance (CHLC) subscales of the MultidimensionalHealth Locus of Control Scale (MHLC; Wallston & Wallston, 1978) andthe Powe Fatalism Inventory (PFI; Powe, 1995) were used to measuredimensions of fatalism. Coping responses were assessed with the BriefCope (Carver, 1997), and an adapted version of the AcculturationRating Scale for Mexican Americans (ARSMA-II; Cuellar, Arnold, &Maldonado, 1995) was used to determine the acculturation status ofthe participants. Results indicated that optimism and acculturationwere positively correlated with QoL, and optimism proved to havea significant and positive mediating effect on the relationship ofacculturation status and QoL. Optimistic Latino cancer patients tendedto utilize active coping, planning, and acceptance strategies, butonly active coping and acceptance were related to higher QoL scores.Pessimistic patients used more avoidant coping strategies (denial,venting, substance use, and behavioral disengagement), which weresignificantly related to lower QoL scores. Higher levels of fatalismand less acculturation were also associated with lower QoL scores.Patients who reported higher levels of cancer fear tended to usemore denial coping. All the avoidant coping responses were associatedwith CHLC; only substance use was related to PHLC. Clinical assessmentof these study variables in Latino patient populations may help identifyindividuals at risk for adjustment problems following a cancer diagnosis.(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)