The Effectiveness of Meaning-Centered Group Therapy on the Dimensions of Illness Attitude in Women with Amputation-Related Grief Syndrome Due to Cancer
Keywords:
Meaning-centered therapy, illness attitude, amputation-related grief, breast cancer, death anxiety, group therapyAbstract
Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of meaning-centered group therapy on the dimensions of illness attitude in women with amputation-related grief syndrome due to cancer.
Methods and Materials: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with a pretest–posttest and follow-up structure including an experimental and a control group. The statistical population consisted of women with breast cancer experiencing death anxiety and amputation-related grief who were referred to Seyed al-Shohada Hospital (AS) and the Alaa Cancer Prevention and Control Center in Isfahan. A total of 36 participants were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 18) and a control group (n = 18). The experimental group received eight 90-minute sessions of meaning-centered group therapy based on logotherapy principles, while the control group received no psychological intervention. Data were collected using the Illness Attitude Scale, Death Anxiety Scale, and Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale at three stages: pretest, posttest, and follow-up. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance in SPSS-26.
Findings: The results indicated a significant effect of time (F = 36.82, p = 0.001), group (F = 28.17, p = 0.001), and the interaction of time and group (F = 39.74, p = 0.001) on illness attitude dimensions. The experimental group showed significant reductions in maladaptive illness attitudes from pretest to posttest (p = 0.001) and from pretest to follow-up (p = 0.001), while no significant change was observed between posttest and follow-up (p > 0.05), indicating stability of the intervention effects over time. No significant changes were observed in the control group across measurement stages.
Conclusion: Meaning-centered group therapy is an effective intervention for improving illness attitudes and reducing maladaptive cognitive-emotional responses in women with cancer-related amputation and grief, with sustained effects over time.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Nika Dardashtinia (Author); Gholamreza Talebi; Shadi Goli (Author)
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