Coping effectiveness and fear of disease progression in cancer patients

Fear of disease progression (FoP) is common in cancer patients. Recently, our research has shown that group psychotherapy can reduce dysfunctional FoP. In the current analysis, we investigated whether these group interventions also had an effect on coping effectiveness, i.e., the frequency of the use of adaptive and helpful actions for coping with FoP. N = 265 cancer inpatients who were treated in a rehabiliation setting participated in this longitudinal study. They were randomized to receive either a cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBT) or a supportive-experiential group therapy (SET). The control group received standard care, and was recruited 1 year after the interventions. Patients were assessed prior to the interventions, after the interventions, and at 3 and 12 months follow-up. They provided data on coping effectiveness and FoP. Coping effectiveness and FoP correlated r = -.34, p < .001. The ANOVA revealed a significant interaction showing a different course of coping effectiveness for the study groups. CBT and SET group interventions led to a short-term (pre/post) increase in coping effectiveness, but the intervention groups and the control group did not differ in coping effectiveness at follow-up (12 months). The effect size for the CBT group was ES = 0.19. The results of this exploratory analysis reveal that, compared to standard care, short group therapy interventions had a positive impact on coping effectiveness. The failure to influence coping effectiveness in the long run and the low effect size should motivate to further optimize the interventions.