Background: The aim of this study was to assess the predictive role of religious coping in quality of life of breast cancer patients.
Materials and methods: This multi-center cross-sectional study was conducted in Tehran, Iran, from October 2014 to May 2015. A total of 224 women with breast cancer completed measures of socio-demographic information, religious coping (brief RCOPE), and quality of life (FACT-B). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the t-test, ANOVA, and linear regression analysis.
Results: The mean age was 47.1 (SD=9.07) years and the majority were married (81.3%). The mean score for positive religious coping was 22.98 (SD=4.09) while it was 10.13 (SD=3.90) for negative religious coping. Multiple linear regression showed positive and negative religious coping as predictor variables explained a significant amount of variance in overall QOL score (R(2)=.22, P=.001) after controlling for socio-demographic, and clinical variables. Positive religious coping was associated with improved QOL (β=0.29; p=0.001). In contrast, negative religious coping was significantly associated with worse QOL (β=-0.26; p=0.005).
Conclusions: The results indicated the used types of religious coping strategies are related to better or poorer QOL and highlight the importance of religious support in breast cancer care.