The effect of self-concealment on post-traumatic stress symptoms in breast cancer patients: The mediating role of experiential avoidance.
Breast cancer is a major global health issue. It brings death threats or serious physical injuries to patients, and is a traumatic event that can seriously affect their mental health and lead to post-traumatic stress, which can lead to serious physical, psychological, cognitive, and social dysfunction, and even increase the risk of suicide, and impose a heavy burden on patients and their families.
To investigate the mediating effect of experiential avoidance between self-concealment and post-traumatic stress symptoms in breast cancer patients.
This study used a cross-sectional survey design. From 15/08/2021 to 31/12/2021, breast cancer patients were recruited as study subjects in the oncology department of a tertiary hospital in Deyang City. Data were collected through the following tools: the general information questionnaire, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, the Self-Concealment Scale, and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-Second Edition.
257 breast cancer patients eventually completed the study, all females. Descriptive results showed that breast cancer patients had self-concealment scores (24.75 ± 7.34), experiential avoidance scores (18.48 ± 5.44), and post-traumatic stress symptoms scores (32.29 ± 14.14). Pearson correlation analyses showed that self-concealment was positively correlated with experiential avoidance and traumatic stress response (r = 0.343, 0.467, both P < 0.01); experiential avoidance was positively correlated with traumatic stress response (r = 0.534, P < 0.01). Mediation effect analyses showed that the total effect of self-concealment on post-traumatic stress symptoms was 0.453, with a direct effect path coefficient of 0.310, and the mediation effect path coefficient of experiential avoidance between self-concealment and post-traumatic stress symptoms was 0.142 (95% CI: 0.074 to 0.223), accounting for 31.35% of the total effect.
Experiential avoidance in breast cancer patients mediates the relationship between self-concealment and posttraumatic stress symptoms. and could guide healthcare professionals in developing tailored interventions to improve the mental health of patients.
To investigate the mediating effect of experiential avoidance between self-concealment and post-traumatic stress symptoms in breast cancer patients.
This study used a cross-sectional survey design. From 15/08/2021 to 31/12/2021, breast cancer patients were recruited as study subjects in the oncology department of a tertiary hospital in Deyang City. Data were collected through the following tools: the general information questionnaire, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, the Self-Concealment Scale, and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-Second Edition.
257 breast cancer patients eventually completed the study, all females. Descriptive results showed that breast cancer patients had self-concealment scores (24.75 ± 7.34), experiential avoidance scores (18.48 ± 5.44), and post-traumatic stress symptoms scores (32.29 ± 14.14). Pearson correlation analyses showed that self-concealment was positively correlated with experiential avoidance and traumatic stress response (r = 0.343, 0.467, both P < 0.01); experiential avoidance was positively correlated with traumatic stress response (r = 0.534, P < 0.01). Mediation effect analyses showed that the total effect of self-concealment on post-traumatic stress symptoms was 0.453, with a direct effect path coefficient of 0.310, and the mediation effect path coefficient of experiential avoidance between self-concealment and post-traumatic stress symptoms was 0.142 (95% CI: 0.074 to 0.223), accounting for 31.35% of the total effect.
Experiential avoidance in breast cancer patients mediates the relationship between self-concealment and posttraumatic stress symptoms. and could guide healthcare professionals in developing tailored interventions to improve the mental health of patients.