Effect of Perceived Social Support on Adjustment of Patients Suffering from Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Abstract

Patients suffering from nasopharyngeal carcinoma show considerable variations in overall short-term adjustment. This article reports the results of a longitudinal study conducted in Hong Kong from September 1992 to May 1994, with the objectives of evaluating the association between the adjustment and social support in the three phases of the illness and of identifying the mechanism through which social support has its effect on adjustment. This research should help to promote in Hong Kong a model of practice that is empirically based, phase-specific, and preventive in nature.