Florence Cousson-Gélie

Are psychosocial factors associated with quality of life in patients with haematological cancer? A critical review of the literature.

Haematological cancers differ from other cancers mainly with regard to treatment strategies: surgery is used for diagnostic purposes but rarely for treatment, whereas chemotherapy is of central importance and, in some cases, cures patients. This article reviews studies that examine the relationships between psychosocial factors and quality of life (QoL) in haematological cancer patients.

THE BODY-IMAGE QUESTIONNAIRE: AN EXTENSION

The 19-item Body-Image Questionnaire, developed by our team and first published in this journal in 1987 by Bruchon-Schweitzer, was administered to 1,222 male and female French subjects. A principal component analysis of their responses yielded an axis we interpreted as a general Body Satisfaction dimension. The four-factor structure observed in 1987 was not replicated. Body Satisfaction was associated with sex, health, and with current and future emotional adjustment.

Dimensions of Cancer Locus of Control Scale as Predictors of Psychological Adjustment and Survival in Breast Cancer Patients

The Cancer Locus of Control Scale, to investigate specific beliefs of control in cancer patients, was validated previously with an English-speaking population. This study tested the construct and concurrent validity of a 17-item French version of the scale and explored its relations with psychological adjustment and with adaptation assessed two years later. In a sample of 157 women diagnosed with a first breast cancer, the French version was administered along with the Body Image Questionnaire, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Social Support Questionnaire, and the Ways of Coping Checklist. A factor analysis performed on scores identified the three original factors: internal causal attribution, control over the course of the illness, and religious control. Internal causal attribution was associated with high scores for state and trait anxiety, negative body image, emotion-focused coping, and problem-focused coping. Control over the course of the cancer was positively associated with scores on both problem- and emotion-focused coping. Religious control was negatively associated with perceived stress. Emotional adjustment and quality of life were assessed in 59 of the 157 breast cancer patients two years after diagnosis and original testing. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that internal causal attribution significantly predicted 38.1% of the variance in rated state anxiety. None of the dimensions of the Cancer Locus of Control Scale predicted the duration of survival measured two years later in 75 of the 157 patients.

The Ways of Coping Checklist (WCC): Validation in French-speaking cancer patients.

We explore the psychometric properties of the French version of the Ways of Coping Checklist Revised (WCC-R) for a cancer patient sample. The WCC-R was completed by 622 patients and 464 completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the original factor structure did not fit the data. The sample was randomly divided into two subsamples. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on one subsample and revealed three factors: ‘Seeking social support’, ‘Problem focused-coping’ and ‘Self-blame and avoidance’, including 21 items. A CFA confirmed this structure in the second subgroup. These scales correlated with the anxiety scores.

Affective Components of the Human-Animal Relationship in Animal Husbandry: Development and Validation of a Questionnaire

The aim of the present study was to identify the main dimensions of the human-animal relationship in animal husbandry and to test the hypothesis of a coherent system linking attitudes and feelings. A second objective was to assess interin-dividual differences which could be linked to socioenvironmental or personal factors. The 26-item questionnaire was administered to 197 animal farmers (143 men, 54 women, 3.8% under 25 years old, 45.2% under 40 years, 44.2% under 60 years and 7.1% over 60 years). To include even farmers not in the official agricultural registries, we used a random selection procedure. A principal component analysis of responses followed by varimax rotation yielded two factors accounting for 30.7% of the total variance, a Friendship factor and a Power relationship factor. Significant differences on the Friendship factor were observed between groups by sex of farmers, education, size of the production system, and region of production. There were also differences on the Power relationship factor between groups by age and education. These results validate a questionnaire with 21 items, allowing measurement of positive and negative affects of farmers towards their animals.