Depression in Uveal Melanoma Survivorship: Examining Psychological Predictors of Adjustment in the First Year Following Diagnosis.

Background: A rare cancer, uveal melanoma (UM) affects 5 in 1 million adults annually. Research on predictors of mental health in UM survivors is scarce.

Purpose: In this prospective study, we tested models that postulate interactions between illness perceptions and coping processes in predicting depressive symptoms 1 year following UM diagnosis.

Methods: Participants' approach- and avoidance-oriented coping processes and illness perceptions specific to control and chronicity were assessed. Participants (N = 107) completed assessments prior to diagnosis (T0), and 1 week (T1), 3 months (T2), and 12 months after UM diagnosis (T3).

Results: At T1, a significant avoidance coping × chronicity perception interaction (b = 1.84, p = .03) indicated that the link between higher avoidance coping and greater T3 depressive symptoms was stronger for participants with prolonged chronicity perceptions (b = 17.13, p < .001). Chronicity perceptions at T2 interacted significantly with approach-oriented coping at all time points; the link between higher approach coping and lower T3 depressive symptoms was stronger for participants with prolonged chronicity perceptions at T2. Interactions between control perceptions and coping did not significantly predict T3 depressive symptoms.

Conclusions: Findings lend partial support to predictive models that consider the combined, interacting influence of chronicity perceptions and coping processes on depressive symptoms in survivors of eye cancer.