Psychosocial functioning of carcinoid cancer patients: Test of a stress and coping mediated model

This study examined a mediated-effects stress and coping model among cancer patients with carcinoid tumors to identify specific pathways with a view toward determining (a) which coping strategies predict more positive adjustment, (b) which strategies predict less positive adjustment, and (c) whether coping would mediate the effect of optimism on psychosocial outcomes. Coping strategies partially mediated the effects of optimism on the psychological adjustment in cancer patients with carcinoid tumors. Specifically, self-blame and active coping significantly predicted outcomes of distress. Thirty-seven percent of the respondents met criteria for elevated depressive symptoms warranting intervention. Generalizability of the mediated-effects stress and coping model and findings unique to the carcinoid population are discussed.