Social Science and Medicine
Volume 42, Issue 7, 1996, Pages 1077-1084

Coping with additional stresses: Comparative study of healthy and cancer patient new immigrants (Article)

Baider L.* , Kaufman B. , Ever-Hadani P. , Kaplan De-Nour A.
  • a Psycho-Oncology Unit, Sharett Institute of Oncology, Hadassah University Hospital, P.O. Box 12000, Jerusalem, 91120, Israel
  • b Institute of Oncology, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel
  • c Department of Medical Ecology, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
  • d Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel

Abstract

The adjustment and psychological distress of 166 cancer patients, who are new immigrants from the former Soviet Union, was assessed and compared to that of 288 healthy new immigrants from the former Soviet Union. The healthy new immigrants had many adjustment problems and their psychological distress was fairly high. The cancer patients reported extremely severe psychological distress. In the healthy immigrants, age contributed to distress while family support had significant protective effects especially in the male immigrants. In the patients, these differences were even more extreme with family support being protective in the male group but not in the female group. Intrusiveness (IES) seems to be maladaptive adding to distress. The results clearly indicate that additional stresses, such as immigration, make cancer patients more vulnerable. The results also suggest possible interventions, especially those that will help to decrease intrusiveness.

Author Keywords

Stress cancer Immigration Healthy population

Index Keywords

immigrant cancer patient demography immigration human sex difference controlled study Aged USSR cancer social support United States family male female risk factor Article major clinical study adult privacy distress syndrome normal human
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-0029970390&doi=10.1016%2f0277-9536%2895%2900300-2&partnerID=40&md5=2e29c4b15ed5e7bdcf83cc230ebe7958
DOI: 10.1016/0277-9536(95)00300-2
ISSN: 02779536
Cited by: 20
Original Language: English