The Effectiveness of a Mindfulness-Based Psychological Coping Skills Training Program on Psychological Self-Efficacy in Women with Breast Cancer
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Objective: Psychological self-efficacy—one’s belief in the ability to manage mental and emotional challenges—is a critical factor in coping with chronic illness. Mindfulness-based interventions have demonstrated promise in promoting adaptive coping, but their effects on self-efficacy in cancer patients remain underexplored in culturally specific contexts such as Iran. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured mindfulness-based psychological coping skills training program on psychological self-efficacy in women with breast cancer in Bandar Abbas, Iran.
Methods and Materials: Using a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design with control group and two-month follow-up, 30 women diagnosed with breast cancer were recruited through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to experimental (n = 15) and control (n = 15) groups. The intervention group participated in a 10-session mindfulness-based coping skills program. Psychological self-efficacy was measured using Sherer et al.’s Self-Efficacy Scale. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc tests.
Findings: The experimental group showed significant improvements in psychological self-efficacy scores from pretest to posttest and follow-up compared to the control group (p<0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed large effect sizes (η² > 0.85), indicating the intervention’s strong impact over time.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that mindfulness-based coping skills training can significantly enhance psychological self-efficacy in women with breast cancer. Culturally adapted, structured interventions may serve as effective adjuncts in psychosocial cancer care. Further research with larger samples and longer-term follow-up is warranted.
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