TY - JOUR
T1 - Psychological Factors Associated With Mental Adjustment to Breast Cancer
T2 - A Hospital-Based Observational Study
AU - Dadzie, Henrietta Ama Nyameke
AU - Teye-Kwadjo, Enoch
AU - Oppong Asante, Kwaku
AU - Amankwah-Poku, Margaret
AU - Gyasi-Gyamerah, Angela Anarfi
AU - Akotia, Charity S.
AU - Osafo, Joseph
AU - Amankwaa-Frempong, Emmanuel
AU - Roomaney, Rizwana
AU - Kagee, Ashraf
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.
PY - 2024/10
Y1 - 2024/10
N2 - This study examined mental adjustment to breast cancer, that is, coping strategies. Participants were 130 women undergoing breast cancer treatment in two medical settings in Accra, Ghana. They completed questionnaires assessing mental adjustment to cancer, psychological distress (anxiety and depression), negative religious coping, body change stress, and illness perceptions. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression. Results showed that patients who reported higher depression were more likely to engage in anxious preoccupation (worry and thinking about breast cancer). Higher depression was associated with a greater sense of helplessness/hopelessness. Moreover, patients higher in negative religious coping were more likely to experience a greater sense of helplessness/hopelessness. Illness perception facets of personal control and emotional response were positively associated with fatalism and anxious preoccupation, respectively. The results suggest that screening breast cancer patients for psychological morbidity could help identify patients with increased risks for maladaptive adjustment to the disease.
AB - This study examined mental adjustment to breast cancer, that is, coping strategies. Participants were 130 women undergoing breast cancer treatment in two medical settings in Accra, Ghana. They completed questionnaires assessing mental adjustment to cancer, psychological distress (anxiety and depression), negative religious coping, body change stress, and illness perceptions. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression. Results showed that patients who reported higher depression were more likely to engage in anxious preoccupation (worry and thinking about breast cancer). Higher depression was associated with a greater sense of helplessness/hopelessness. Moreover, patients higher in negative religious coping were more likely to experience a greater sense of helplessness/hopelessness. Illness perception facets of personal control and emotional response were positively associated with fatalism and anxious preoccupation, respectively. The results suggest that screening breast cancer patients for psychological morbidity could help identify patients with increased risks for maladaptive adjustment to the disease.
KW - breast cancer
KW - distress
KW - illness perceptions
KW - psychological adjustment
KW - religious coping
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85159668662&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/10541373231176018
DO - 10.1177/10541373231176018
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85159668662
SN - 1054-1373
VL - 32
SP - 621
EP - 643
JO - Illness Crisis and Loss
JF - Illness Crisis and Loss
IS - 4
ER -