Coping Strategies Among the Malignant Brain Tumor Patients

In the contemporary world, health and health related behaviors are studied through the Biopsychosocial model of Health Psychology. Health Psychology is a branch of Psychology which focuses on the mental and physical components of illness. With the changing patterns of illnesses from acute to chronic diseases, there is a need to understand the effects of chronic diseases on the overall well-being of the person. Brain tumor is a chronic illness which can be physically and mentally taxing. Tumor is an abnormal growth of the cells which can take place in any part of the body. This abnormal growth of cells in the brain is known as brain tumor. Coping with the treatment of tumor can take a toll on patient’s physical and mental well-being. There are various coping strategies which a person uses to deal with the illness physically as well as psychologically. Purpose: The focus of the study undertaken was to assess the coping strategies of male and female malignant brain tumor patients. Method: A sample size of 60 participants comprising of 30 male and 30 female patients of malignant brain tumor were taken. Only pre surgery patients were considered for the study. Purposive sampling technique was used to collect the sample. Brief-COPE scale by Carver was used to measure the coping strategies of the participants. The scale comprises of 3 factors: Problem Focused, Emotion Focused and Avoidant Focused Coping. The analysis and interpretation of the data was done through calculations of Mean, Standard Deviation, SED and Student’s t test. Scores on 3 different domains of the scale were compared to measure the gender differences in coping strategies. Results:  The results indicate that there exists a significant difference among males and females with regards to Problem Focused Coping and Avoidant Focused Coping.  Whereas, there is no significant difference among males and females with respect to Emotion Focused Coping.