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Which goal adjustment strategies do cancer patients use? A longitudinal study
Author(s) -
Janse Moniek,
Fleer Joke,
Smink Ans,
Sprangers Mirjam A. G.,
Ranchor Adelita V.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
psycho‐oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.41
H-Index - 137
eISSN - 1099-1611
pISSN - 1057-9249
DOI - 10.1002/pon.3924
Subject(s) - cancer , colorectal cancer , medicine , longitudinal study , period (music) , cancer treatment , psychology , physics , pathology , acoustics
Objective A cancer diagnosis may lead to the need to adjust personal goals. This study longitudinally investigates patients' use of goal adjustment strategies with goal characteristics over time. Whether and which goal adjustment strategies are used after cancer diagnosis may depend on the period studied (treatment period or follow‐up period) and illness variables such as illness severity. Methods Newly diagnosed colorectal cancer patients ( n = 186) were asked about their personal goals during three assessments (within 1 month after diagnosis and 6 and 18 months after the first assessment). Eight goal adjustment strategies were assessed over the first 6 months (treatment period) and between 7 and 18 months (follow‐up period) using goal characteristics. Illness variables were obtained from patients' medical records from the national cancer registry. Results Most patients used one strategy per period, and patients most often shifted their priorities across life domains. During the treatment period, more patients formed shorter‐term goals than during the follow‐up period, while during the follow‐up period, more patients formed longer‐term goals than during the treatment period. Illness variables were not related to the use of goal adjustment strategies. Conclusions The findings show that cancer patients use different goal adjustment strategies and, interestingly, that the use of specific strategies depended on the period after diagnosis but not on illness variables. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.