Coping and adapting to breast cancer: a six-month prospective study.

Abstract

The coping scores during the chronic period are related to those observed during the acute period, with a decrease of instrumental strategies and a stability of distraction and palliative coping. Relationships between CHIP and HADS plead for a deleterious impact of palliative coping on the mood in T2 and for a mood protecting effect of distraction in T1 and T2, without impact on anxiety and without effect of the instrumental coping. These hypotheses must take into account the fact that CHIP scores could be ambiguous measures assessing not only coping modes but also adaptation levels.