Relationship Between Personality and Coping Styles in Bone Marrow Transplant Candidates

Exploring the Relationship Between Personality and Coping Styles in Bone Marrow Transplant Candidates

This study will look at how people cope with an upcoming bone marrow transplant and how personality characteristics influence coping styles in stressful medical situations. Personality traits, such as extraversion, optimism and self-esteem have been related to active, problem-focused coping styles, whereas neuroticism has been related to increased psychological distress and denial as a way of coping. Coping styles, in turn, have been related to disease outcome. For example, a fighting spirit and avoidance have been correlated with longer survival, whereas fatalism, anxious preoccupation and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness were related to a poor disease outcome. A better understanding of the relationship between coping styles and personality may help improve supportive care for people undergoing bone marrow transplants. This study will:

  • Explore the relationship between personality traits, coping styles and psychological stress in patients awaiting bone marrow transplantation
  • Identify what coping styles people use to prepare for bone marrow transplantation
  • Identify what personality traits are related to particular coping styles in patients awaiting bone marrow transplantation
  • Identify the relationship between personality factors and level of psychological distress in patients awaiting bone marrow transplantation

Cancer patients 18 years of age and older who are scheduled for bone marrow transplant are eligible for this study.

Participants will fill out pencil-and-paper questionnaires providing demographic information (such as age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, and so forth) and answering questions about their opinions and preferences. The information will be used to assess the participants' personality characteristics, coping styles, and psychological distress. The questionnaires take about 45 to 50 minutes to complete.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Over the last decade, more and more focus has been placed upon the psychological adjustment of patients who have undergone bone marrow transplants (BMT). There have been studies that focused on the coping styles and levels of psychological distress in patients immediately after transplantation. Studies have been done based on a specific point during the process or at multiple points throughout the course of the procedure and still other studies have focused on assessment points several months post transplant. However, very little attention has been focused on patients' psychological functioning prior to transplantation. The purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship between personality traits and coping styles among patients awaiting BMT.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment

57

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Maryland
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

INCLUSION CRITERIA

All patients with diagnosis of cancer and awaiting BMT.

Criteria for participation in the study include a diagnosis of cancer and being actively screened for a CC approved PBSC transplant protocol. The participants will not have undergone the transplant at the time of the evaluation. Participants will be ages 18 and older.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA

No patients who meet the eligibility criteria will be excluded from the study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

October 1, 2002

Study Completion

September 1, 2005

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 28, 2002

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 28, 2002

First Posted (Estimate)

October 29, 2002

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

March 4, 2008

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 3, 2008

Last Verified

September 1, 2005

More Information

Terms related to this study

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Bone Marrow Transplantation

Subscribe