Coping Strategies of Southern Italian Women Predict Distress Following Breast Cancer Surgery

Authors

  • Rossana De Feudis
    Psycho-Oncology, Breast Unit, “San Paolo” Hospital ASL BA, Bari, Italy
  • Tiziana Lanciano
    Department of Education, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
  • Stefano Rinaldi
    General Surgery Unit, Breast Unit, “San Paolo” Hospital of ASL BA, Bari, Italy

Abstract

The present study was aimed at investigating the role of coping strategies in predicting emotional distress following breast cancer, over and above the illness severity, operationalized in terms of the type of surgery performed. In order to achieve this goal, two groups of newly diagnosed breast cancer women were selected and compared on the basis of the type of surgical treatment received. A subsample of 30 women with quadrantectomy and sentinel lymph-node biopsy (SLNB) and a subsample of 31 patients with mastectomy and axillary dissection (MAD) filled in the Brief Cope scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Summarizing, results showed that emotional support, venting, and humor explained a statistically significant increment of variance in psychological distress indices. Implication for clinical practice and future research were discussed.