Self-Efficacy and Its Relationship to Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Posttraumatic Growth in Cancer Patients

The objectives of this study were to investigate self-efficacy and its relationship with posttraumatic stress symptoms and growth in advanced cancer patients. The General Perceived Self Efficacy Scale (GSE), the Greek version of the Impact of Event Scale (IES-Gr), and the Greek version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI-Gr) were completed by 115 patients. Statistically significant associations were found between GSE score, patients' performance status, intrusions, hyperarousal, and PTGI-Gr score. The multiple regression analysis revealed that self-efficacy was influenced by intrusions and PTGI-Gr score. In advanced cancer patients, factors that seem to influence self-efficacy are intrusion and posttraumatic growth.