BACKGROUND: Despite literature finding support for the social cognitive processing model, which suggests that social constraints are related to distress, few studies have examined possible mediators of this effect; none have examined this relation among women with family histories of breast cancer (FH+). PURPOSE: This study was designed to examine possible effects of social constraints on psychological distress among FH+ women. METHODS: Six FH+ women (M age = 39.2 years) completed self-report measures of social constraints, avoidance, and general and cancer-specific distress. RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses revealed that social constraints were significantly related to both cancer-specific and general distress and that avoidance partially mediated the relation between social constraints and both types of distress. CONCLUSIONS: Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
BACKGROUND: Despite literature finding support for the social cognitive processing model, which suggests that social constraints are related to distress, few studies have examined possible mediators of this effect; none have examined this relation among women with family histories of breast cancer (FH+). PURPOSE: This study was designed to examine possible effects of social constraints on psychological distress among FH+ women. METHODS: Six FH+ women (M age = 39.2 years) completed self-report measures of social constraints, avoidance, and general and cancer-specific distress. RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses revealed that social constraints were significantly related to both cancer-specific and general distress and that avoidance partially mediated the relation between social constraints and both types of distress. CONCLUSIONS: Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
Authors: Christina M Marini; Katherine L Fiori; Janet M Wilmoth; Anica Pless Kaiser; Lynn M Martire Journal: Gerontology Date: 2019-09-10 Impact factor: 5.140