Relationship between Posttraumatic Growth and Death Attitudes in People with Cancer with Mediating Role of Cognitive Flexibility

Background and Aim: Cancer is a fatal disease that can affect various aspects of life, including personal, family, and social life, and can destroy a person s performance. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the mediating role of cognitive flexibility in the relationship between post-traumatic growth and attitude towards death in people with cancer. Materials and Methods: The present study was descriptive-correlational and structural equation modeling. The statistical population of the present study included cancer patients in Tehran in the year 1401. Among these patients, 120 people were selected as a sample and they were asked to answer the post-traumatic growth questionnaire, death attitude scale and cognitive flexibility questionnaire. Results: The research results showed that the correlation coefficient between death attitude with cognitive flexibility (0.38) and post-traumatic growth (0.27) is significant at 0.01. Also, cognitive flexibility had a mediating role in the relationship between post-traumatic growth and death attitude in people with cancer. Conclusion: Based on this study, the relationship between post-traumatic growth and death attitude in people with cancer, cognitive flexibility had a mediating role. Therefore, post-traumatic growth through increasing the level of cognitive flexibility can help to improve the attitude towards death in people with cancer.