Exploring the relationships among spiritual well-being, quality of life, and psychological adjustment in women with breast cancer

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Abstract
An Erratum has been published for this article in Psycho‐Oncology 9(1) 2000, 89–89. This study examined the relationships among spiritual well‐being, quality of life, and psychological adjustment in 142 women diagnosed with breast cancer who were participating in a larger study designed to compare the efficacy of two psychosocial support programs. Participants were given a set of questionnaires that measured spiritual well‐being, quality of life, and adjustment to cancer. Results revealed a positive correlation between spiritual well‐being and quality of life, as well as significant correlations between spiritual well‐being and specific adjustment styles (e.g. fighting spirit). There was also a negative correlation between quality of life and use of a helpless/hopeless adjustment style, and a positive correlation between quality of life and fatalism. In regression analyses, after controlling for demographic variables and adjustment styles, spiritual well‐being contributed very little additional variance in quality of life. These findings suggest that while spiritual well‐being is correlated with both quality of life and psychological adjustment, the relationships among these variables are more complex and perhaps indirect than previously considered. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.