Abstract

• PURPOSE: This study was conducted to detect the correlations and the main factors influencing depression, life satisfaction, burden, defenition of suffering, meaning of life, and suffering. METHOD: The samples were composed of 160 cancer patients who were or outpatients of four hospitals in Seoul. The reliability of the 6 instruments was tested with Cronbach's alpha which ranged from .62 to .90. The data was analyzed using a SAS program for descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. Results: The results were as follows: 1. The scores on the suffering scale ranged from 132 to 40 with a mean of 87.3 (SD 17.5). 2. There were significant correlations between all the predictive variables and even the amounts of suffering (r=.27-.84, p <.05). 3. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that depression was the main predictor of suffering, and accounted for 71.6% of the variance. In addition burden accounted for 4.6% of the variance in suffering. The two variables combined to account for 76.2% of the variance in suffering. CONCLUSION: In conclusion and depression, burden were identified as important variables in explaining the suffering of patients with cancer.
• Keywords: Suffering; Cancer

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