Psychological Factors Associated With Mental Adjustment to Breast Cancer: A Hospital-Based Observational Study

Abstract

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.