The Efficacy of Positive Psychology on Hope, Self-Compassion, and Post-Traumatic Growth in Women with Breast Cancer

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and can cause various psychological issues for those with it. The current study aimed to determine the efficacy of positive psychology in improving hope, self-compassion, and post-traumatic growth in patients with breast cancer. Methods: The current study used a quasi-experimental research with a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design. The statistical population included 483 women with breast cancer diagnosis referred to King Abdullah Medical City Hospital in Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia, in 2021. One hundred patients were chosen using a simple random sampling method and assigned to intervention and control groups (50 people in each group). Members of the intervention group received positive psychology training. At various stages of the test, Snyder Hope Scale (1996), Neff Self-Compassion Scale (2003), and Tedeschi and Calhoun Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (1996) were used. The data were analyzed using the mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) test in SPSS software. Results: Positive psychology-based intervention effectively improved hope (F = 17.94, P = 0.002), self-compassion (F = 10.41, P = 0.003), and post-traumatic growth (F = 35.23, P = 0.001) in women with breast cancer. Conclusion: Positive psychology provides patients with breast cancer with a compassionate and hopeful understanding of the disturbances affecting their quality of life, allowing them to consciously accept their feelings and thoughts.

Keywords

• breast cancer
• positive psychology
• hope
• self-compassion
• post-traumatic growth