Coping Strategies, Locus of Control, and Quality of Life in Patients with Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Abstract

Patients with cancer are included in vulnerable groups with a low quality of life. Accordingly, this study aimed to explore the relationship between coping strategies and locus of control with the quality of life in women with early-stage breast cancer. A total of 224 women with breast cancer (M age = 36.82; SD age = 11.21) were selected using convenience sampling from general hospitals and cancer treatment centers in Tehran, Iran, and completed measures included Multidimensional Coping Inventory, Locus of Control of Behavior Scale, and World Health Organization Quality of Life. The results of the current study showed significant relationships between coping strategies and locus of control with the quality of life in women suffering from breast cancer. Moreover, the results of hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that the locus of control (β = − .47), task-focused coping style (β = .27), and emotion-focused coping strategy (β = − .19) were significant predictors of the patients’ quality of life. Quality of life of the women with early-stage breast cancer may be improved by helping them to adopt more task-focused coping strategies and internal locus of control.