Spiritual peace and life meaning

Spiritual peace and life meaning may buffer the effect of anxiety on physical well‐being in newly diagnosed cancer survivors:

Abstract

Objective

To assess the extent to which spiritual well‐being moderates the relationship between anxiety and physical well‐being in a diverse, community‐based cohort of newly diagnosed cancer survivors.

Methods

Data originated from the Measuring Your Health (MY‐Health) study cohort (n=5506), comprised of people assessed within 6‐13 months of cancer diagnosis. Life meaning/peace was assessed using the 8‐item subscale of the Spiritual Well‐Being Scale (FACIT‐Sp‐12). Anxiety was measured with an 11‐item PROMIS® Anxiety short form, and physical well‐being was assessed using the 7‐item FACT‐G subscale. Multiple linear regression models were used to assess relationships among variables.

Results

Life meaning and peace was negatively associated with anxiety, b = ‐0.56 (p < 0.001) and positively associated with physical well‐being, b = 0.43 (p = < 0.001) after adjusting for race, education, income, and age. A significant interaction between life meaning/piece and anxiety emerged (p < .001) indicating that spiritual well‐being moderates the relationship between anxiety and physical well‐being. Specifically, for cancer survivors high in anxiety, physical well‐being was dependent on levels of life meaning/peace, b = 0.19, p < .001. For those low in anxiety, physical well‐being was not associated with levels of life meaning/peace, b = 0.01, p = .541. Differences in cancer clinical factors (cancer stage at diagnosis, cancer type) did not significantly impact results.

Conclusions

Further research is needed to assess how spiritual well‐being may buffer the negative effect of anxiety on physical well‐being. A clinical focus on spiritual well‐being topics such as peace and life meaning, may help cancer survivors of all types as they transition into follow‐up care.

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