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Personality, Emotions and Coping Styles: Predictive Value for the Evolution of Cancer Patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Violeta Cardenal
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
Mª Victoria Cerezo*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Málaga (Spain)
Joaquina Martínez
Affiliation:
Clínica Nuestra Señora de Belén de Murcia (Spain)
Margarita Ortiz-Tallo
Affiliation:
Universidad de Málaga (Spain)
Mª José Blanca
Affiliation:
Universidad de Málaga (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mª Victoria Cerezo. Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Málaga. Phone: +34-952132555. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

This study had a twofold goal: to define differences in psychological aspects between cancer patients and a control group and to explore the predictive value of such aspects for the evolution of the disease two years later. Firstly, personality, anxiety, anger and depression were assessed in both groups. Results of t-analyses revealed significant group differences. In personality, cancer patients had higher levels of neuroticism and lower levels of extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness than the control group. In emotional variables, cancer patients had higher levels of anxiety and some aspects of anger, but there were no group differences in depression levels. Secondly, applying a quasi-prospective design, the predictive value of personality, emotions and coping styles for the evolution of cancer (favourable or unfavourable) was explored using generalized linear models and logistic regression. A four-predictor logistic model was fitted: Anger Expression-In, Resignation, Self-blame and Conscientiousness, indicating that the higher Anger Expression-in, Resignation, and Self-blame scores together with a lower Conscientiousness score, the more likely it is for patients' cancer to evolve unfavourably. These results indicate the crucial role of psychological aspects for the evolution of the disease and the need to include such aspects in the design of clinical interventions.

Este estudio tiene un doble objetivo: describir las diferencias en los aspectos psicológicos entre los pacientes con cáncer y un grupo control,y explorar el posible valor predictivo de estos aspectos en la evolución de la enfermedad dos años más tarde. En primer lugar, se evaluaron en ambos grupos variables de personalidad, ansiedad, ira y depresión. Los resultados de los análisis t mostraron diferencias significativas entre los dos grupos. En personalidad, los pacientes con cáncer mostraron niveles más altos de neuroticismo y niveles más bajos de extraversión, afabilidad y concienciación que el grupo control. En variables emocionales, los pacientes con cáncer presentaron puntuaciones más elevadas en ansiedad y en algunos aspectos de la ira, pero no hubo diferencias entre los grupos en los niveles de depresión. En segundo lugar, aplicando un diseño cuasi-prospectivo, se analizó el valor predictivo de la personalidad, las emociones y los estilos de afrontamiento en la evolución del cáncer (favorable o desfavorable), mediante modelos lineales generalizados y de regresión logística. Se ajustó un modelo logístico de cuatro predictores: Ira interna, Resignación, Autoculpación y Concienciación, indicando que altas puntuaciones en Ira interna, Resignación, Autoculpación, junto con puntuaciones bajas en Concienciación, presentaban mayor probabilidad de relacionarse con una evolución desfavorable del cáncer. Estos resultados apoyan el papel crucial de los aspectos psicológicos en la evolución de la enfermedad y la necesidad de incluirlos en el diseño de las intervenciones clínicas.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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