Relationship of stress management skill to psychological distress and quality of life in adults with cancer.

BACKGROUND Distress is common among cancer patients, especially those undergoing chemotherapy. Although skill in stress management is often the target of intervention efforts, its relationship to distress and quality of life in patients about to begin cancer treatment has not been examined. OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship of pre-treatment skill in stress management to patient distress and quality of life. METHODS One hundred and ten adults diagnosed with stage I-IV cancer and ECOG <or=2 provided data on perceived stress management skill, anxiety, depression, and health-related quality of life prior to their initial chemotherapy infusion. RESULTS As predicted, greater skill in stress management was associated with lower levels of anxiety and depression and better overall mental quality of life. These relationships were generally independent of demographic and clinical variables also found to be associated with distress and quality of life. CONCLUSIONS Findings confirm that skill in stress management is related to pre-chemotherapy distress and quality of life and suggest the importance of assessing this variable as part of efforts to link distressed patients to appropriate psychosocial services. Findings also raise the possibility that assessing extant stress management skills could be used to match patients to the type of intervention most likely to benefit them.