The role of spiritual well-being in the association between perceived social support and psychological resilience in women with gynecologic cancer

Abstract

Women with gynecologic cancer may rely on both interpersonal and internal resources to adapt to illness. This study examined whether spiritual well-being may be involved in the association between perceived social support and psychological resilience. In this cross-sectional study, 161 women with gynecologic cancer in Ankara, Türkiye, completed measures of spiritual well-being, perceived social support, and psychological resilience. Psychological resilience was positively associated with both perceived social support and spiritual well-being, and the mediation analysis produced a pattern consistent with partial mediation. These findings suggest that spiritual well-being may represent one possible pathway within the association between perceived social support and resilience in women with gynecologic cancer. The findings are consistent with Reed’s Self-Transcendence Theory by suggesting that spiritual well-being may be one self-transcendent resource associated with both perceived social support and psychological resilience.