Study Type D Personality and Cognitive Strategies of Emotion Regulation as Predictors of Happiness and Quality of Life in Women with Breast Cancer

Abstract

Some personality traits, such as A and D, have great stress, anxiety, and negative emotions that causes the patients with breast cancer to be susceptible to more stress and negative perception of events. We aimed to investigate the association of type D personality and cognitive strategies of emotion regulation with happiness and QOL in women with breast cancer. The present cross-sectional study included 100 women with breast cancer referred to Shiraz Medical Centers in summer 2015 through purposive sampling method. Demographic information was recorded and they filled four questionnaires voluntarily, including type D personality scale, Cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire (CERQ), and Oxford happiness inventory and QOL (SF-36) questionnaires. The association between the variables were then tested by regression models. We found a significant negative association between type D personality and happiness and there was a positive association between type D personality and QOL (P<0.001), between positive cognitive strategies of emotion regulation, and QOL, and happiness (both P<0.001), but there was no significant relationship between negative cognitive strategies of emotion regulation and happiness and QOL (P=0.08). Type D personality and cognitive strategies could affect QOL and happiness in patients suffering from breast cancer.