Emotion, Reason, and Communication in Coping With Cancer

Researchers have sought to identify which coping styles are most conducive to recovery from cancer and other serious illnesses. The results have been equivocal. It appears that what helps one patient does not necessarily help another. This article proposes a model explaining how emotional, cognitive, and environmental conditions influence the styles of coping used by cancer patients and the likelihood that particular styles will prove helpful to these patients. The model is based on the premise that coping does not occur in isolation from the emotional makeup, cognitive predispositions, and social environment of the patient. It describes how these processes interact to influence the protective effect of various coping styles.