Coping and Benefit Finding among Long-Term Breast Cancer Survivors of Different Sexual Orientations

Abstract

This study of long-term breast cancer survivors examined differences in coping by sexual orientation and determined the contribution of sexual orientation and coping on survivors' benefit finding. Sexual orientation was indirectly associated with benefit finding by interactions with clinical, social support, and demographic variables, and not by interactions between sexual orientation and coping styles. While survivors with a sexual minority orientation had more adaptive coping than heterosexual survivors, these differences in coping did not relate to benefit finding. These findings provide some information for clinicians and researchers about subgroups of sexual minority survivors' who perceive more benefit after breast cancer.