Spiritual Well-Being, Social Support, and Depression Among American Indian Women Cancer Survivors: The Mediating Effect of Perceived Quality of Life

Abstract

This study aims to examine the mediating effect of quality of life on associations between both spiritual well-being and social support and depression among American Indian (AI) women cancer survivors. We collected cross-sectional data from AI women in the Midwest who were cancer survivors ( n = 73) with a self-administered survey. We employed a series of linear regression to examine the mediation model. We found spiritual well-being and social support were negatively associated with depression. These results indicate the importance of spiritual well-being and social support as protective and resilient factors in reducing the risk of depression. Moreover, these associations were fully mediated by the women’s self-perception of their quality of life. Considering cultural-specific resilience, our findings would be useful for the design, adjustment, and implementation of future psychotherapeutic protocols for AI cancer survivors.