Impact of social comparison on cancer survivors' quality of life: An experimental field study

Health Psychology

Volumn 31, Issue 5, 2012, Pages 660-670

  Brakel, Thecla M ^a   Dijkstra, Arie ^a   Buunk, Abraham P ^a   Siero, Frans W ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF GRONINGEN   (Netherlands)

Author keywords

Cancer patients; Individual differences; Interview; Quality of life; Social comparison

Indexed keywords

ADULT; AGED; ARTICLE; BREAST CANCER; CANCER SURVIVOR; COLON CANCER; CONTROLLED STUDY; COPING BEHAVIOR; FEMALE; FIELD STUDY; HEALTH STATUS; HODGKIN DISEASE; HUMAN; INTERVIEW; LUNG CANCER; MAJOR CLINICAL STUDY; MALE; MEDICAL INFORMATION; NEOPLASM; NONHODGKIN LYMPHOMA; QUALITY OF LIFE; SELF REPORT; SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS; SOCIAL ASPECT; VALIDATION STUDY; CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIAL; EMOTION; HUMAN RELATION; INTERVENTION STUDY; MIDDLE AGED; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL; SURVIVOR; VERBAL COMMUNICATION;

EMOTIONS; FEMALE; HEALTH STATUS; HUMANS; INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS; INTERVENTION STUDIES; INTERVIEWS AS TOPIC; MALE; MIDDLE AGED; NARRATION; NEOPLASMS; QUALITY OF LIFE; SURVIVORS;

EID: 84872160354     PISSN: 02786133     EISSN: 19307810     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1037/a0026572     Document Type: Article

References (51)

1. Ahrens, A. H., & Alloy, L. B. (1997). Social comparison processes in depression. In A. P. Buunk & F. X. Gibbons (Eds.), Health, coping and well being: Perspectives from social comparison theory (pp. 398-410). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
2. Bennenbroek, F. T. C., Buunk, B. P., Stiegelis, H. E., Hagedoorn, M., Sanderman, R., Van den Bergh, A. C. M., & Botke, G. (2003). Audiotaped social comparison information for cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy: Differential effects of procedural, emotional and coping information. Psycho-Oncology, 12, 567-579. doi:10.1002/pon.674
3. Bennenbroek, F. T. C., Buunk, B. P., Van der Zee, K. I., & Grol, B. (2002). Social comparison and patient information: What do cancer patients want? Patient Education and Counseling, 47, 5-12. doi:10.1016/S0738-3991(02)00018-6
4. Bogart, L. M., Benotsch, E. G., & Pavlovic, J. D. (2004). Feeling superior but threatened: The relation of narcissism to social comparison. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 26, 35-44. doi:10.1207/ s15324834basp2601_4
5. Brakel, T. M., & Dijkstra, A. (2008). Influence of content of patients testimonials on the evaluation of patient characteristics. 'Abstracts', Psychology & Health, 23, 71. doi:10.1080/08870440802299543
6. Buunk, A. P., Brakel, T. M., Bennenbroek, F. T. C., Stiegelis, H., Sanderman, R., Van den Bergh, A. C. M., & Hagedoorn, M.. (2009). Neuroticism and responses to social comparison among cancer patients. European Journal of Personality, 23, 475-487. doi:10.1002/per.720
7. Buunk, A. P., & Ybema, J. F. (1997). Social comparisons and occupational stress: The identification-contrast model. In A. P. Buunk & F. X. Gibbons, (Eds.). Health, coping and well being: Perspectives from social comparison theory (pp. 359-388). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
8. Cantril, H. (1965). The pattern of human concerns. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
9. Carmona, C., Buunk, A. P., Peiró, J. M. Rodríguez, I., & Bravo, M. J. (2006). Do social comparison and coping styles play a role in the development of burnout? Cross-sectional and longitudinal findings. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 79, 85-99. doi:10.1348/096317905X40808
10. Cheng, R., & Lam, S. (2007). Self-construal and social comparison effects. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 197-211. doi:10.1348/ 000709905X72795
11. Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S. G., & Aiken, L. S. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Publishers.
12. Collins, R. L. (1996). For better or worse: The impact of upward social comparison on self-evaluations. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 51-69. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.119.1.51
13. Dibb, B., & Yardley, L. (2006). Factors important for the measurement of social comparison in chronic illness: A mixed-methods study. Chronic Illness, 2, 219-230.
14. Diener, E., & Srull, T. K. (1979). Self-awareness, psychological perspective, and self-reinforcement in relation to personal and social standards. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 413-423. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.37.3.413
15. Dijkstra, A. (2008). The psychology of tailoring-Ingredients in computertailored persuasion. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2, 765-784. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2008.00081.x
16. Ferrell, B. R., Dow, K., & Grant, M. M. (1995). Measurement of the quality of life in cancer survivors. Quality of Life Research: An International Journal of Quality of Life Aspects of Treatment, Care & Rehabilitation, 4, 523-531. doi:10.1007/BF00634747
17. Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117-140. doi:10.1177/001872675400700202
18. Förster, J., & Dannenberg, L. (2010). GLOBALsys: A systems account of global versus local processing. Psychological Inquiry, 21, 175-197. doi:10.1080/1047840X.2010.487849
19. Förster, J., Liberman, N., & Kuschel, S. (2008). The effect of global versus local processing styles on assimilation versus contrast in social judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 579-599. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.94.4.579
20. Ganz, P. A., Desmond, K. A., Leedham, B., Rowland, J. H., Meyerowitz, B. E., & Belin, T. R. (2002). Quality of life in long-term, disease-free survivors of breast cancer: A follow-up study. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 94, 39-49. doi:10.1093/jnci/94.1.39
21. Gibbons, F. X. (1986). Social comparison and depression: Company's effect on misery. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 140-148. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.1.140
22. Gibbons, F. X., & Buunk, A. P. (1999). Individual differences in social comparison: The development of a scale of social comparison orientation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 129-142. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.76.1.129
23. Hoberman, H., & Lewinsohn, P. (1985). The behavioral treatment of depression. In E. Beckham & W. Leber (Eds.), Handbook of depression (pp. 39-81). Homewood, IL: Dorsery.
24. Leplège, A., & Hunt, S. (1997). The problem of quality of life in medicine. Journal of the American Medical Association, 278, 47-50. doi:10.1001/ jama.278.1.47
25. Leventhal, H., & Colman, S. (1997). Quality of life: A process view. Special issue: Quality of life: Recent advances in theory and methods. Psychology & Health, 12, 753-767. doi:10.1080/08870449708406737
26. Locke, D. E. C., Decker, P. A., Sloan, J. A., Brown, P. D., Malec, J. F., Clark, M. M., Bucker, J. C. (2007). Validation of single-item linear analog scale assessment of quality of life in neuro-oncology patients. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 34, 628-638. doi:10.1016/ j.jpainsymman.2007.01.016
27. Lyubomirsky, S., & Ross, L. (1997). Hedonic consequences of social comparison: A contrast of happy and unhappy people. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 1141-1157. doi:10.1037/00223514.73.6.1141
28. Lyubomirsky, S., Tucker, K. L., & Kasri, F. (2001). Responses to hedonically conflicting social comparisons: Comparing happy and unhappy people. European Journal of Social Psychology, 31, 511-535. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.82
29. McFarland, C., & Miller, D. T. (1994). The framing of relative performance feedback: Seeing the glass as half empty or half full. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 1061-1073. doi:10.1037/00223514.66.6.1061
30. Morgan, M. (2009). Cancer survivorship: History, quality-of-life issues, and the evolving multidisciplinary approach to implementation of cancer survivorship care plans. Oncology Nursing Forum, 36, 429-436. doi: 10.1188/09.ONF.429-436
31. Morse, S. U., & Gergen, K. J. (1970). Social comparison, self-consistency, and the concept of self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 16, 148-156. doi:10.1037/h0029862
32. Mussweiler, T. (2001). "Seek and ye shall find": Antecedents of assimilation and contrast in social comparison. European Journal of Social Psychology, 31, 499-509. doi:10.1002/ejsp.75
33. Mussweiler, T. (2003). Comparison processes in social judgment: Mechanisms and consequences. Psychological Review, 110, 472-489. doi: 10.1037/0033-295X.110.3.472
34. Pool, G., Heuvel, F., Ranchor, A. V., & Sanderman, R. (Eds.). (2004). Handboek psychologische interventies bij chronisch-somatische aandoeningen [Manual of psychological interventions in chronic somatic diseases]. Assen, The Netherlands: Koninklijke van Gorcum.
35. Schwartz, C. E., & Sprangers, M. A. G. (1999). Methodological approaches for assessing response shift in longitudinal health-related quality-of-life research. Social Science & Medicine, 48, 1531-1548. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(99)00047-7
36. Scott, N. W., Fayers, P. M., Aaronson, N. K., Bottomley, A., de Graeff, A., Groenvold, M.,... Sprangers, M. A. G. (2009). Differential item functioning (DIF) in the EORTC QLQ-C30: A comparison of baseline, on-treatment and off-treatment data. Quality of Life Research: An International Journal of Quality of Life Aspects of Treatment, Care & Rehabilitation, 18, 381-388. doi:10.1007/s11136-009-9453-7
37. Sedikides, C., & Green, J. D. (2004). What I don't recall can't hurt me: Information negativity versus information inconsistency as determinants of memorial self-defense. Social Cognition, 22, 4-29. doi:10.1521/soco.22.1.4.30987
38. Silver, R. C., Wortman, C. B., & Crofton, C. (1990). The role of coping in support provision: The self-presentational dilemma of victims of life crises. In B. R. Sarason, I. G. Sarason, G. R. Pierce, B. R. Sarason, I. G. Sarason, & G. R. Pierce (Eds.), Social support: An interactional view (pp. 397-426). Oxford, England: Wiley.
39. Stanton, A. L., Danoff-Burg, S., Cameron, C. L., Snider, P. R., & Kirk, S. B. (1999). Social comparison and adjustment to breast cancer: An experimental examination of upward affiliation and downward evaluation. Health Psychology, 18, 151-158. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.18.2.151
40. Swallow, S. R., & Kuiper, N. A. (1988). Social comparison and negative self-evaluations: An application to depression. Clinical Psychology Review, 8, 55-76. doi:10.1016/0272-7358(88)90049-9
41. Taylor, C., Kulik, J., Badr, H., Smith, M., Basen-Engquist, K., Penedo, F., & Gritz, E. R. (2007). A social comparison theory analysis of group composition and efficacy of cancer support group programs. Social Science & Medicine, 65, 262-273. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.03.024
42. Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1988). Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 193-210. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.103.2.193
43. Taylor, S. E., & Lobel, M. (1989). Social comparison activity under threat: Downward evaluation and upward contacts. Psychological Review, 96, 569-575. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.96.4.569
44. Taylor, S. E., Wood, J. V., & Lichtman, R. R. (1983). It could be worse: Selective evaluation as a response to victimization. Journal of Social Issues, 39, 19-40. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1983.tb00139.x
45. Teeuw, B., Schwarzer, R., & Jerusalem, M. (1994). Dutch adaptation of the general perceived self-efficacy scale. Retrieved from: http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~health/dutch.htm
46. van der Stap, S. (2006). Meisje met negen pruiken [Girl with nine wigs]. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Uitgeverij Prometheus.
47. Van der Zee, K., Buunk, A. P., Sanderman, R., Botke, G., & Van der Bergh, F. (2000). Social comparison and coping with cancer treatment. Personality and Individual Differences, 28, 17-34. doi:10.1016/S01918869(99)00045-8
48. Van der Zee, K. I., Buunk, A. P., De Ruiter, J. H., Tempelaar, R., Van Sonderen, E., & Sanderman, R. (1996). Social comparison and the subjective well-being of cancer patients. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 18, 453-468. doi:10.1207/s15324834basp1804_6
49. Weary, G., Elbin, S., & Hill, M. (1987). Attributional and social comparison processes in depression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 605-610. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.3.605
50. Wills, T. A. (1981). Downward comparison principles in social psychology. Psychological Bulletin, 90, 245-271. doi:10.1037/00332909.90.2.245
51. Yzerbyt, V. Y., Muller, D., & Judd, C. M. (2004). Adjusting researchers' approach to adjustment: On the use of covariates when testing interactions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 40, 424-431. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2003.10.001