PERSONAL CHANGES, DISPOSITIONAL OPTIMISM, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT TO BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION

We investigated the number and direction of personal changes experienced by long-term survivors of bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and the relationships of those changes and dispositional optimism to psychological adjustment (current and future life satisfaction and mood). Surveys were returned by 86.0% (N = 135) of all eligible long-term survivors; respondents primarily were young males who were 6 to 149 months post-BMT. Subjects reported more positive changes in the relationship and existential/psychological domains and more negative changes in the physical health domain; there was no difference on the plans/activities domain. Negative changes were more strongly related to adjustment than were positive changes. The number of negative changes reported was significantly related to current, and future life satisfaction and negative mood after controlling for demographic and illness variables and dispositional optimism. The interaction term for negative and positive changes was significantly related to future life satisfaction after controlling for all other variables.