Psychosocial resources and subjective well-being of cancer patients.

Based on Taylor's theory of cognitive adaptation to cancer and on the distinction between psychological and social resources, we analyse whether optimism, internal health locus of control, self-esteem, purpose in life, and perceived availability of social support assessed prior to the commencement of chemotherapy predict concurrent subjective well-being (SWB), SWB at a 9-month follow-up, and change in SWB over time. Longitudinal data were collected from 163 cancer patients. Analyses showed that social support, self-esteem, and to a lesser extent, optimism and purpose in life showed concurrent associations with SWB. In addition, social support and purpose in life at T(1) predicted improvement in SWB over time. However, when resources at T(1) and T(2) are included in the analysis simultaneously, only concurrent resources were related to SWB at T(2) and to change in SWB over time. It is concluded that the effect of initial resources on change in SWB is mediated by the levels of later resources.