Abstract

TOJAL, Catarina  and  COSTA, Raquel. Mental adjustment to breast cancer: the role of depression and social support. Psic., Saúde & Doenças [online]. 2014, vol.15, n.3, pp.777-789. ISSN 1645-0086.  https://doi.org/10.15309/14psd150317.

The aim of this study was to examine the mental adjustment to breast cancer considering their psychosocial characteristics. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 150 breast-cancer-diagnosed women aged between 20 and 79 years. Data was collected using: (1) a clinical and socio-demographic questionnaire; (2) the Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale; (3) the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey and (4) the Beck Depression Inventory. The results show that age, education level and marital status, as well as social support are associated to the mental adjustment to breast cancer. Depressive symptoms are the best predictors of mental adjustment to breast cancer.Taking in account the psychosocial aspects related to mental adjustment to breast cancer will allow the development of specific interventions, in order to enhance the quality of life of patients with breast cancer.

Keywords : breast cancer; mental adjustment; social support; socio-demographic variables; predictors.

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