Coping with loneliness: Caregivers of cancer patients

Abstract

Caregivers to cancer patients may be particularly vulnerable to the experience of loneliness. The current study compared the strategies used to cope with loneliness by those caring for hospitalized cancer patients who were receiving treatment, and caregivers of cancer patients in a hospice, who were on their death bed. Analyses revealed that there was no significant difference in coping with loneliness by caregivers of the ill and dying, but found a significant interaction effect within the caregivers to the ill group. Women attending to the ill scored higher on Acceptance and reflection, Self-development & understanding, and on the Social support network subscales than men did.