Relationship between psychological well‑being and social capital and resilience among cancer patients

Research revealed resilience can decrease the effects of stress and improve quality of life among cancer patients. The role of positive factors such as psychological well‑being and social capital is separately studied in cancer.

The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between the psychological well‑being and social capital with resilience among cancer patients. Setting and Design: This descriptive correlational study conducted on 163 cancer patients were selected patients referring to Touba Specialized Clinic in Sari from May to December 2018.

The data collection tools included Demographics Questionnaire, Riff ’s Psychological Well‑being Scale (‑2002), Onyx‑Bullen’s Social Capital Questionnaire (2000), and Connor‑Davidson’s Resilience Scale (2003).Statistical Analysis Used: SPPS 20 and descriptive and inferential statistical methods (Mann–Whitney, Kruskal–Wallis and linear regression, Spearman correlation coefficient,) were employed. P < 0.05 was considered as the level of significance.

The results revealed that the mean (standard deviation) of the psychological well‑being, social capital, and resilience were 69.71 ± 5.49, 118.60 ± 8.51, and 78.48 ± 8.68, respectively. The study showed a positive and significant correlation between psychological well‑being and resilience (r = 0.797; P = 0.001), and between social capital and resilience (r = 0.716, P = 0.001). The findings revealed that psychological well‑being and social capital explained 70% of the resilience variation.

The results showed that psychological well‑being and social capital have high relationship with cancer patients’ resilience and it suggested through developing appropriate interventions on psychological well‑being and social capital, it is possible to improve the cancer patients’ resilience.