Social support and coping strategies in cancer patients

Pages: 508-514
Sanchi Jain and Priyanka Musalay (Department of Psychology, St. Francis College, Begumpet, Hyderabad )

Social Support guides an individual to endure difficulties and plays a significant role in contributing to overall well-being. Studies showed that social support helps to sustain positive attitude in cancer patients. The phenomenon of social support is highly associated with coping strategies which together influence emotional and physical well-being of the patient. The objective of the study is to find out if there is any significant relationship between social support and coping strategies in cancer patients. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 101 Stage I and Stage II cancer patients where 51 were male and 50 were female. Social support was measured using Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and Coping was measured with the revised Brief COPE Scale. Analysis of data was done using Pearson’s product-movement correlation coefficient and t – test. The results revealed that there was a positive significant correlation between perceived social support and coping strategies. The implications and shortcomings are discussed.