Correlates of Self-Transcendence in Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review
Özkan Uğuz, Ebru Gülcan, Simay Yenigün
İzmir Katip Çelebi Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi June 14, 2025 DOI: 10.61399/ikcusbfd.1438308 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,013 |
| Population | Patients with cancer |
| Measures | Self-Transcendence Scale (STS), Temperament and Character Inventory Revised-Self-Transcendence (TCI-R-ST) |
| Key findings | Across eight descriptive studies of 1,013 cancer patients, self-transcendence was positively associated with optimism, social support, problem-focused coping, emotional and spiritual well-being, quality of life, power, cognitive avoidance, fighting spirit, fatalism, and resilience, and negatively associated with uncertainty, pain frequency and severity, insomnia, fatigue, concentration and appearance concerns, outlook, helplessness-hopelessness, and anxious preoccupation. Cancer stage was also correlated with self-transcendence. The authors propose these findings could inform oncology nursing health promotion and prevention strategies. |
Abstract
Objective: The aim of this systematic review is to analyse studies investigating factors associated with self-transcendence in cancer patients. Material and
Method: The study was conducted by electronically searching EBSCOhost, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and Wiley Online Library databases, limiting the date range beginning until December 2023, and keywords "neoplasm”, “cancer", "tumour", "carcinoma", "self-transcendence", "correlation", "factors", "predictive", "relationship", "association" and "determinant" to identify eligible studies reporting correlations.
Results: This systematic review included eight articles involving 1013 patients who met the inclusion criteria. All the studies had a descriptive design. The "Self-Transcendence Scale (STS)" and "Temperament and Character Inventory Revised-Self-Transcendence (TCI-R-ST)” data-collection tools were used in these studies. The results showed that self-transcendence was positively correlated with optimism, social support, problem-focused coping, emotional well-being, quality of life, power, spiritual well-being, cognitive avoidance, fighting spirit, fatalism, and resilience among cancer patients. On the other hand, a negative correlation was found between uncertainty, pain frequency, pain severity, insomnia, fatigue, concentration, appearance, outlook, helplessness-hopelessness, anxious preoccupation, and self-transcendence. Finally, there was a correlation between cancer stage and self-transcendence.
Conclusion: Health-related, disease-related, and psychosocial variables are associated with self-transcendence in patients with cancer. Our research suggests that these insights could be used to inform the development of health promotion and prevention strategies by oncology nurses for patients with cancer.
Citations in the library
Cites 16
- The Lived Experience of Self-Transcendence in Women with Advanced Breast Cancer Nursing Science Quarterly December 1, 1990
- Innovative behavior and organizational innovation climate among the Chinese clinical first-line nurses during the Omicron pandemic: The mediating roles of self-transcendence. PLoS One 2024
- Self-Transcendence: Association with Spirituality in an Italian Sample of Terminal Cancer Patients Behavioral Science July 1, 2023
- Relationship between family functioning and self-transcendence in patients with breast cancer: A network analysis Frontiers in Public Health November 17, 2022
- The effect of psychosocial distress and self-transcendence on resilience in patients with cancer. Perspectives In Psychiatric Care May 10, 2022
and 11 more in the library