Predicting Pain Tolerance Based on Spiritual Health and Self-Efficacy in Cancer Patients
Keywords:
pain tolerance, spiritual health, self-efficacyAbstract
Objective: The objective of this study was to predict pain tolerance in cancer patients based on their spiritual health and self-efficacy.
Methodology: This descriptive–correlational study was conducted on a statistical population of 260 cancer patients who visited Namazi Hospital in Shiraz in 2024. Based on the Morgan table, 150 patients were selected through convenience sampling. Research instruments included the Pain Tolerance Questionnaire by Sullivan et al. (1995), the Spiritual Health Questionnaire by Polotzine and Ellison (1982), and the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire by Scherer et al. (1982). Data were analyzed using SPSS through descriptive statistics and inferential tests including Pearson correlation and multiple regression.
Findings: Results indicated a positive and significant relationship between spiritual health and pain tolerance (r=0.285, p=0.001). Existential health also showed a positive and significant correlation with pain tolerance (r=0.376, p=0.001). Self-efficacy demonstrated the strongest correlation with pain tolerance (r=0.483, p=0.001). Multiple regression analysis showed that spiritual health and self-efficacy together explained 36% of the variance in pain tolerance (R²=0.36). Both spiritual health (β=0.328, p=0.001) and self-efficacy (β=0.365, p=0.001) were significant positive predictors. Separate regressions revealed that spiritual health accounted for 20% of the variance, and self-efficacy accounted for 23% of the variance in pain tolerance.
Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that spiritual health and self-efficacy play key roles in enhancing pain tolerance among cancer patients, highlighting their importance in developing psychological and spiritual interventions aimed at improving patients’ coping and resilience in the face of cancer-related pain.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Fatemeh Behrouzfar, Marjan Albehbahani (Author)
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