Goal pursuit mediates effects of a gratitude intervention on death-related fear of recurrence in breast cancer survivors
Date
2015
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
One of the most prevalent and distressing concerns endorsed by breast cancer survivors is fear of cancer recurrence (FOR), and one of the most salient facets is the worry that a recurrence of cancer could cause one's death. The primary goal of the present study was to test the effects of a brief gratitude intervention on overall FOR and death-related FOR, with pursuit of meaningful goals examined as a potential mediator. Positive affect (PA) was also examined as both an outcome of the intervention and as a mediator of observed effects of the intervention on FOR. Sixty-seven women with early-stage breast cancer were randomly assigned to either a six-week online gratitude intervention or a six-week online control condition. Although the intervention did not predict changes in overall FOR, results revealed that patients in the gratitude intervention experienced a significant decrease in death-related FOR compared to the control condition. Moreover, this effect was partially mediated by goal pursuit. The gratitude intervention was also found to prevent a decline in PA observed in the control condition; however, PA did not mediate the effects of the intervention on death-related FOR. Overall, findings support the notion that gratitude promotes psychological adaptation to cancer by promoting the pursuit of meaningful goals and subsequently reducing death-related FOR.