INFLUENCE OF ANXIETY LEVELS, SPIRITUAL SUPPORT AND GENDER ON COPING STRATEGIES AMONG PEOPLE-LIVINGWITH- CANCERS IN SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the influence of anxiety levels, spiritual support and gender on coping strategies among 150 people (81 males and 69 females) living with cancer drawn from Federal Tertiary Health Institutions (FTHI) in South-East Nigeria. Participants were selected using purposive sampling method and the crosssectional survey design was adopted. Participants were 18 to 74 years with a mean age of 40.7 (SD = 15.08). Three instruments State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI- Y1), Spiritual Support Scale (SSS) and Ways of Coping Questionnaire were used for data collection. Data was analyzed using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA). The result showed that anxiety level significantly influenced both problem and emotion focused coping; spiritual support significantly influenced problem coping only, while gender had no significant effect on any of the coping strategies among people-living-with-cancers. A major implication of the findings of this study is that there is a high incidence of anxiety among people-living-with-cancers and anxiety affects how they cope. The finding also implied the importance of spiritual support in the use of problem coping style. The study recommends that management of people with cancer at FTHI, in South-East Nigeria should adopt a
comprehensive treatment approach that would include psychotherapy to help treat and control anxiety among people-living-with-cancers.