A Study of Spirituality, Self-forgiveness and Self-blame in the Quality of Life of Patients with Breast Cancer

Introduction: The aim of this study is to determine whether the quality of life of patients with breast cancer could be predicted by spirituality, self-forgiveness and self-blame. Methods: This is a descriptive correlational study in which 120 cancer patients admitted to two university hospitals were selected using cluster-sampling method. The research instruments were the Paloutzian and Ellison’s Spiritual Well-Being Scale (1), self-forgiveness and self-blame scales and World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire. According to the level of data and statistical assumptions, multiple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses Results: The results of statistical analysis showed that the components of spiritual wellness, existential wellness, anxiety control and realistic perception were related to the quality of life at a significantly level of 5%. The positive value of these coefficients actually indicates that by improving these components, the quality of life could be enhanced. Also, it was found that negative attitude and selfblame were in a negative relationship with the quality of life. Conclusion: The present study investigated the relationship between spirituality, self-forgiveness and self-blame with quality of life, with the results indicating that personal-level variables, i.e. spirituality, self-forgiveness and self-blame affect the quality of life.