Compound Psychological capital as the predictor of Functional Well being among Lung Cancer patients in India

Lung cancer remained a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with 2.2 million new cases and 1.8 million deaths reported annually. Beyond its physical toll, lung cancer imposed significant psychological challenges, including anxiety, depression, and reduced quality of life. This study explored the relationship between compound psychological capital—hope, resilience, optimism, and self-efficacy—and functional well-being in lung cancer patients in India. Grounded in the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory and the Wilson and Cleary model, the research examined how the compound psychological capital dimension influenced patients’ ability to cope with the multifaceted challenges of disease treatment. Employing a non-experimental quantitative correlational study design, the study utilized validated tools such as the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy—Lung (FACT-L) and the Compound Psychological Capital Scale (CPC-12) to assess quality of life and compound psychological capital. The study found that all four components of Psychological Capital (PsyCap)—hope, optimism, self-efficacy, and resilience—were significantly correlated with Quality of Life (QoL) in cancer patients, with hope showing the strongest association. In the regression analysis, hope, optimism, and self-efficacy significantly predicted QoL, while resilience did not. Overall, the findings highlighted that enhancing hope, optimism, and self-efficacy could substantially improve QoL in cancer patients