Religious Coping and Psychological Resilience Among Cancer Patients at Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, Benue State

Cancer diagnosis and treatment impose severe psychological burdens on patients, and religious coping has been identified as a particularly salient resource in the Nigerian cultural context where religious beliefs permeate daily life and illness interpretation. This study examines the relationship between religious coping and psychological resilience among cancer patients receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, Benue State, North Central Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey design is applied to 180 cancer patients aged 18 to 70 years in active treatment, recruited through purposive sampling from oncology and haematology outpatient clinics. The Brief RCOPE Scale and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale are administered alongside a questionnaire capturing cancer type, treatment stage, duration of illness, and social support. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and regression analysis are computed in SPSS. Literature from North Central Nigerian medical settings identifies positive religious coping (seeking God's help, benevolent religious reappraisal) as significantly associated with higher resilience, while negative religious coping (spiritual discontent, divine punishment attribution) is associated with worse psychological adjustment. The Religious Coping Model by Pargament and the Resilience Framework by Richardson provide the theoretical reference. Findings will inform oncology patient care practices and chaplaincy services at the Federal Medical Centre. Keywords: religious coping, psychological resilience, cancer patients, Makurdi, Benue State.