THE EFFECT OF DIMENSION OF SOCIAL SUPPORT ON HOPE AND LONELINESS IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER

Loneliness is one of the major psychosocial concerns among patients with
cancer. Diagnosis, acute treatment and complications of breast cancer may create experience of
loneliness. Hope is an essential factor in the lives of cancer patients. Realistic hope, felt with the
awareness of the problem, is an important factor for coping with the problems of the patient in an
efficient manner. Social support is an important aspect of modern cancer cares. Social support plays a
major role in adaptation with chronic and serious illnesses, such as cancer. The purpose of this study
was to investigate the effect of dimension of social support on hope and loneliness in patients with
breast cancer.
Material and Methods: The method of study was descriptive-correlation. 100 patients with breast
cancer were selected randomly and enter to study. The data were collected with GHQ, Miller Hope
Scale, the UCLA Loneliness Scale and Social Support Questionnaire -Sarason . Data were analyzed
with using Pearson correlation.
Results: A positive relationship existed between social support and hope (r = 0/88) and negatively
associated with loneliness (r = - 0/91). A negative correlation between hope and loneliness was found
(r = - 0/93) (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The findings suggest that social support influence on hope and loneliness. Planning
should be considered for social support of patients with breast cancer in order to heal psychological
problems such as loneliness and hopelessness and to enhance the quality of life of patients