S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 7 3 Mário Schwarz 2 Method 2.1 Sample and Procedure The participants were 200 cancer patients, 143 females (71.5%) and 57 males (28.5%). Age of the participants was from 20 to 83 years (M = 54.6; SD = 14.2). They were divided into two groups. The first group included 100 cancer patients, 69 females and 31 males, who were undergoing treatment at the time. The length of the period from the diagnosis and the beginning of treatment was from 3 months to 8 years. The second group comprised 100 cancer survivors, 74 females and 26 males. The research was carried out at the National Cancer Institute and was approved by the ethics committee of the National Cancer Institute. The length of the period from overcoming the disease was from 6 months to 25 years. Using the scale, the participants also reported whether they found themselves strongly religious – 1, or strongly non-religious – 5. Based on their answers, the participants were divided into three categories: 1) religious, 2) ambivalent, 3) non-religious. A more detailed description and gender distribution are provided in the Table 1. Table 1. Number of Participants in Three Categories Describing their Attitude to Religion Categories Currently Treated (N=100) Cured (N=100) Female Male Female Male 1. Religious 27 10 40 13 2. Ambivalent 27 12 18 5 3. Non-Religious 15 9 16 8 2.2 Measures The posttraumatic growth was measured using the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) created by Tedeschi and Calhoun. The original inventory contained 34 items. In our study, we used its reduced form with 21 items measuring 5 domains: 1) Relationships with others (seven items, e.g. , “I know I can count on people in times of trouble”); 2) New opportunities (five items, e.g. , “I developed new interests”); 3) Personal development (four items, e.g. , “I feel more self-confident”); 4) Spiritual change (two items, e.g. , “I have a stronger religious faith”); 5) Appreciation of life (three items, e.g. , “I can better appreciate each day”). The indicated items represent positive changes determining the domain in which an individual, who has coped with certain situation, has changed. The participants rate the items using a Likert scale from 0 (“I did not experience this change as a result of my crisis”) to 5 (“I experienced this change to a very great degree as a result of my crisis”). The participants focused on cancer when responding to the individual statements. The religiousness of the participants was measured using the Swedish Religious Orientation Scale (SROS) designed by Allport and Ross. The scale includes 28 items and comprises 3 subscales: 1) Intrinsic religiousness (ten items, e.g. , “The primary purpose of prayer is to gain relief and protection”); 2) Extrinsic religiousness (twelve items, e.g. , “It is great there is Church, because all of us might get into situations where we need relief and spiritual support”); 3) Dimension of searching (six items, e.g. , “Questions are much more important for my religious life than answers”). The participants rate the individual items using a Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).
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