The research is in response to #22, "Personality and experimental social psychology," within that, "Personality and health." The Principle Investigator is an established investigator entering a new area. Prostate cancer, the most common non-skin cancer among men, begins to appear in men in their 40's and 50's although the most common time for diagnosis is after age 70. In fact, most men after 70 have some evidence of prostate cancer. Thus, understanding the disease is important and placing it in the context of age differences is appropriate. Research on the psychological and personality aspects of the disease, while rare, is necessary to complement growing research on the biological substrates and clinical applications. This study will examine the psychosocial impacts, coping strategies, and quality of life of men diagnosed with prostate cancer, both older men (late 60's and up) and younger men (ro's to early 60's) using the framework of a range of personality and social psychological concepts. These include: perceived control, desire for control, attributions, optimism, coping strategies, and successful aging. Specific aims include: 1) to examine how those personality aspects related to reactions to prostate cancer diagnosis in older and middle-aged men; 2) to identify the unique aspects of personality, and social psychology that relate to successful surviving with prostate cancer; 3) to begin to develop and test a model that combines a) personal characteristics, especially age and race, b) personality dispositional factors, c) behavioral choices, including about treatment options and d) coping and quality of life among prostate cancer survivors as a way to understand the ways men live their lives after diagnosis with prostate cancer. In order to meet these objectives, both questionnaires using standardized measures of primary concepts, open-ended questions, and new scales to be developed in this research and interviews with prostate cancer survivors will be conducted. Samples will specifically focus on age differences, ethnicity (especially including African-Americans), and treatment modality chosen. Appropriate statistical comparisons will be made of the quantitative data, while quantitative interview data will be analyzed fully to uncover themes and patterns within and across individuals.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter