Analysis on the relationship between psychological flexibility and the state of anxiety and depression of cancer patients

Objective To explore the psychological flexibility, state of anxiety and depression of cancer patients and the relationship among them. Methods 168 cancer patients were chosen with handy sampling and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-Second Edition(AAQ-Ⅱ), Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire(CFQ), The Self-Rating Depression Scale( SDS), The Self-Rating Anxiety Scale(SAS) and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire(MLQ) were applied to all patients.144 effective questionnaire copies were selected and the data were processed with one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation analysis and stepwise multiple regression. Results The scores of anxiety and depression were significantly higher in cancer patients than the norm (t=236.58, P<0.01; t=11.76, P<0.01). MLQ had a significant negative correlation with AAQ-Ⅱ, CFQ, SAS, SDS(r=-0.188--0.468, P<0.05)while AAQ-Ⅱ, CFQ, SAS and SDS showed significant positive correlation(r=0.322-0.790, P<0.01); but the scores of different cancer types didn't show significant variation.The stepwise multiple regression showed that AAQ-Ⅱand MLQ-P can explain 39% variation of anxiety and 29% of depression. Conclusion The level of anxiety and depression of cancer patients are significantly higher than normal people, the psychological flexibility have negative correlation with the state of anxiety and depression and powerful explanatory to them. Key words: Cancer patients; Psychological Flexibility; Anxiety; Depression; Meaning in life