Quality of Life, Self-Efficacy and Psychological Well-Being in Brazilian Adults with Cancer: A Longitudinal Study

Quality of life (QoL) has been considered worthy of assessment in the treatment, prevention and rehabili- tation of cancer patients. As it has a psychological dimension, is important to investigate the relationship between quality of life and psychological concepts like self-efficacy and psychological well-being. Ob- jective of the present study is to examine the QoL, self-efficacy and psychological well-being in adults with cancer. Methods: 50 patients completed self-report questionnaires: WHOQOL-bref, General Self- Efficacy Scale and GHQ-12 in two periods (T1 = timeline; T2 = follow up 1 year later). A paired t-test did not identify significant differences in the QoL self-efficacy and psychological well-being between T1 and T2. However, men had a better overall QoL and in the physical and social dimensions, and psycho- logical well-being in T1 compared with the women. In T2 there were significant differences between men and women only in the social and psychological dimensions of the QoL. The self-efficacy in T2 was the only predictive variable of the QoL in T2, explaining 71.9% of its variance. It is concluded that, in the pe- riod of one year, the QoL, psychological well-being and self-efficacy were stable, but gender differences were identified. The variables measured in T1 were incapable of predicting the QoL in T2. The gender differences found in QoL and psychological well-being can be used to guide specific future interventions with these patients.