Exploring the form of change: A latent growth curve model of distress in oncologic patients undergoing specific cancer-related psychological intervention—A preliminary study.

Abstract

e21556 Background: Psychological distress is one of the most important indexes of suffering in oncological patients – due to its severe negative impacts on medical treatments. Thus, the attention to this topic has increased constantly – focusing on the observed outcomes of (psychological) cares. However, very few studies investigated the (latent) pattern ( form) of change in distress within oncological patients receiving psychological intervention. The aim of the study was to test a Latent Growth Curve Model to explore the form of change in distress. Methods: A longitudinal research design was used. Patients ( N= 122, mean age: 68.3, SD= 12.3, 63 female-59 male) were enrolled at the Department of Medical Oncology at Presidio Ospedaliero of Saronno, ASST Valle Olona, Italy, and assessed for the presence of distress with Psychological Distress Inventory (PDI). As clinical routine, all patients received a specific cancer-related psychological intervention (CBT, mainly; mean of sessions: 27.4, SD= 13.5) and were tested at the beginning (T1; α= .88) and at the end of treatment (T2; α= .86) and at timed-balanced follow-up (T3; α= .87). Results: First, longitudinal invariance of measurement was performed to test whether (A) factor structure of PDI and (B) factor loadings of indicators were constant across time. PDI showed metric measurement invariance: Δχ2= 20.4; Δχ2 df= 24; p(Δχ2) = 0.67. Afterward, a LGCM was performed testing different trends of growth (no growth vs. linear vs. free) – controlling for age, number of sessions received, type and localization of tumor. The comparison of growth curves reveal that the linear trends of change had the best model fit to the data: χ2= 4.124, p= .248; RMSEA = .055(.000–.171), p(RMSEA < .05) = .372, CFI = .990, SRMR = .027. Conclusions: These findings highlight that the (latent) linear growth better explain true change of distress – among oncological patients receiving a specific cancer-related psychological intervention. These results outline the possibility to improve the structure of psychological and medical treatments for oncological settings, to reduce psychological suffering and increase quality of life.