Simple Summary
A diagnosis of lung cancer can be accompanied by a wide range of difficult emotions and may affect how patients perceive and accept their illness. This study examined negative emotional experiences, disease acceptance, hope, and selected demographic and temperamental characteristics in 104 patients with lung cancer. The analysis identified two exploratory groups that differed primarily in the number and breadth of endorsed negative emotional experiences. Patients who reported a greater number of negative emotional experiences also showed higher levels of disease acceptance, while hope did not differ significantly between the groups. These findings suggest that a greater number of reported negative emotional experiences does not necessarily indicate poorer psychological adaptation to lung cancer. Disease acceptance, emotional experiences, and hope may represent related but distinct aspects of psychological adaptation. A multidimensional approach to psychological assessment may therefore provide a more complete understanding of patients’ experiences and help identify individual psychosocial needs.
Abstract
Background/Objectives: A diagnosis of lung cancer can be accompanied by negative emotional experiences. This study aimed to explore relationships between selected sociodemographic and temperamental characteristics, 14 negative emotional states, disease acceptance (AIS), and hope (Snyder’s Hope Scale) in patients with lung cancer. Methods: The sample comprised 104 patients with lung cancer (52.88% male, 47.12% female; 57.69% aged 65 years or older). Measures included the AIS, Snyder’s Hope Scale, and an author-developed negative emotions questionnaire. Analyses included Spearman’s rank correlation, non-parametric tests, and exploratory hierarchical cluster analysis (UPGMA). Cluster stability was assessed using 1,000 random 80% subsamples; Jaccard distance was used as a sensitivity analysis. Results: Most patients (65.39%) reported moderate disease acceptance (mean AIS = 23.14 ± 8.29). Anger (57.69%) and helplessness/powerlessness (40.38%) were the most frequently endorsed emotions. Cluster analysis identified two groups differing primarily in the number and breadth of endorsed negative emotions. Cluster 1 comprised 75% of patients, whereas Cluster 2 comprised 25% and reported a greater variety of emotions. Cluster 2 had higher disease acceptance than Cluster 1 (AIS = 27.19 vs. 21.79; p = 0.004). Overall hope (mean = 25.89 ± 5.21) did not differ between clusters (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Disease acceptance may coexist with a broader range of negative emotional experiences and should not be understood simply as the absence of negative emotions. This exploratory finding requires confirmation using validated measures and longitudinal designs. Dispositional hope did not differ between groups, suggesting that hope and negative emotional experiences may represent distinct dimensions of psychological adaptation.