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Attachment to God and coping with the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer: a longitudinal study

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Abstract

Background

Religious/spiritual factors are important for some individuals in the context of life stress. To the authors’ knowledge, the present study is the first to explore the role of women’s attachment to God (anxious vs secure) in their adjustment to breast cancer.

Objective

To explore the (1) pattern of change in women’s attachment to God across time and (2) relationship between attachment to God and coping behaviors and depression.

Methods

All English-speaking women who were scheduled to receive a core breast biopsy at a women’s breast health center were eligible to participate in the study. Women were assessed on attachment to God, positive and negative coping, and depression at pre-diagnosis and 3, 6, and 12 months post-diagnosis. Women who received a benign diagnosis and those with a diagnosis of breast cancer participated in the study.

Results

Attachment to God remained stable across time for both diagnostic groups (cancer, benign). Women from both groups who had a more anxious attachment to God utilized more avoidance coping and reported more depression at different points across time. Breast cancer patients with a more anxious attachment to God reported engaging in less acceptance coping post-diagnosis. Finally, the association between attachment to God and depression was partially mediated by avoidance coping at pre-diagnosis.

Conclusions

Findings indicate that a more anxious attachment to God may contribute to negative patterns of adjustment while a secure attachment may help women remain more directly engaged in their coping with the threat of breast cancer and related diagnostic procedures.

Implications for practice

It is suggested that clinicians remain sensitive to and assess the role of spiritual beliefs in women’s adjustment to the threat of breast cancer from pre-diagnosis up to 1 year post-diagnosis. In particular, women’s belief in and experience of a secure or an anxious attachment with God or higher power may function as a potential resource or as an exacerbating factor, respectively, in their adjustment to breast cancer.

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Funding

This research was supported by a Standard Research Grant (No. 410-2006-0880) from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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  1. Faculty of Human Sciences, Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Terry Lynn Gall & Cynthia Bilodeau

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  1. Terry Lynn Gall
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Correspondence to Terry Lynn Gall.

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Gall, T.L., Bilodeau, C. Attachment to God and coping with the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer: a longitudinal study. Support Care Cancer 28, 2779–2788 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-05149-6

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