Gender Differences in the Use of Engagement and Disengagement Coping Strategies in Patients With Cancer Receiving Chemotherapy.
Kate R Oppegaard, Laura B Dunn, Kord M Kober and 5 others
PMID 32830804WHAT IT FOUND
Women receiving chemotherapy for lung or GI cancer reported using religion, positive reframing, and venting more often than men.
Men reported using humor and substance use more often. Most coping strategies showed no significant gender differences.
Key findings
01Females reported significantly greater use of positive reframing, religion, instrumental support, self-distraction, denial, and venting compared to males.
02Males reported higher use of humor and substance use compared to females.
03No significant gender differences were found in the use of active coping, planning, acceptance, emotional support, behavioral disengagement, and self-blame.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, meaning it captures a single snapshot in time and cannot determine how coping strategies change throughout the course of treatment. Patients who refused participation did so because they were overwhelmed by treatment, potentially excluding those with the highest distress levels from the analysis. The effect sizes for the observed gender differences were small (0.18 to 0.35), suggesting that while statistically significant, these differences may not be clinically dramatic for every individual. The sample was restricted to patients with gastrointestinal or lung cancer, so findings may not generalize to other cancer types.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was supported by the National Institute of Nursing Research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat these findings as rigid stereotypes or assume every patient copes according to their gender. The differences were small, and many coping strategies showed no significant gender variation. Individual assessment remains essential.