Breast Cancer and Resilience: The Controversial Role of Perceived Emotional Intelligence

Cancer is a chronic disease that causes the most deaths in the world, being a public health problem nowadays. Even though breast cancer affects the daily lives of patients, many women become resilient after the disease, decreasing the impact of the diagnosis. Based on a positive psychology approach, the concept of co-vitality arises understood as a set of socio-emotional competencies that enhance psychological adaptation. In this sense, emotional intelligence is one of the main protective factors associated with resilience. However, it is not always as beneficial as it seems, and can lead to collateral effects on psychological adjustment. Given this controversy, this study aims to find the specific processes through which the dimensions of Perceived Emotional Intelligence (PEI) (Emotional Attention, Emotional Clarity, and Mood Repair) can act as a risk or protective factor in the development of resilience. The total sample was 167 women (Age: M = 43.26; SD = 12.43), 46.7% were breast cancer survivors, and 53.3% were healthy controls. The selection of women with breast cancer carries out randomly, recruited through the Oncology Units. The sample completed measures of resilience and PEI, through Resilience Scale (Wagnild and Young, 1993) and TMMS-24 (Salovey et al., 1995). The results showed that breast cancer survivors showed higher age and greater levels of resilience and mood repair than healthy women. The mediation analysis revealed that breast cancer survival and PEI predicted 28% of the variance of resilience. The direct effects showed that emotional clarity and mood repair increased resilience levels. Although breast cancer did not predict resilience directly, it does through mood repair by an indirect process. Besides, the analysis showed that emotional attention played a role in vulnerability, decreasing mood repair, and resilience. These research support theories that point to a possible dark side of PEI, thus, a great level of emotional attention makes dark the positive effect of mood repair and personal growth if a clear perception of emotions does not complement it. These results provide empirical support concerning the need to work complementary each dimension of PEI to avoid unwanted effects on intrapersonal adjustment.

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The impact of cognitive impairment on self‐regulatory styles in breast cancer survivors

Psycho-Oncology ◽

10.1002/pon.5633 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jacqueline H. Becker ◽

Charlotte Ezratty ◽

Nusrat Jahan ◽

Mita Goel ◽

Yael Tobi Harris ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cancer Survivors ◽

Breast Cancer Survivors ◽

Regulatory Styles ◽

The Impact

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Randomized Exercise Trial of Aromatase Inhibitor–Induced Arthralgia in Breast Cancer Survivors

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2014.57.1547 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 33 (10) ◽

pp. 1104-1111 ◽

Cited By ~ 145

Author(s):

Melinda L. Irwin ◽

Brenda Cartmel ◽

Cary P. Gross ◽

Elizabeth Ercolano ◽

Fangyong Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cancer Survivors ◽

Strength Training ◽

Aerobic Exercise ◽

Usual Care ◽

Repeated Measures ◽

Joint Pain ◽

Breast Cancer Survivors ◽

Pain Scores ◽

The Impact

Purpose Arthralgia occurs in up to 50% of breast cancer survivors treated with aromatase inhibitors (AIs) and is the most common reason for poor AI adherence. We conducted, in 121 breast cancer survivors receiving an AI and reporting arthralgia, a yearlong randomized trial of the impact of exercise versus usual care on arthralgia severity. Patients and Methods Eligibility criteria included receiving an AI for at least 6 months, reporting ≥ 3 of 10 for worst joint pain on the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), and reporting < 90 minutes per week of aerobic exercise and no strength training. Participants were randomly assigned to exercise (150 minutes per week of aerobic exercise and supervised strength training twice per week) or usual care. The BPI, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) index, and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire were completed at baseline and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Intervention effects were evaluated using mixed-model repeated measures analysis, with change at 12 months as the primary end point. Results Over 12 months, women randomly assigned to exercise (n = 61) attended 70% (± standard deviation [SD], 28%) of resistance training sessions and increased their exercise by 159 (± SD, 136) minutes per week. Worst joint pain scores decreased by 1.6 points (29%) at 12 months among women randomly assigned to exercise versus a 0.2-point increase (3%) among those receiving usual care (n = 60; P < .001). Pain severity and interference, as well as DASH and WOMAC pain scores, also decreased significantly at 12 months in women randomly assigned to exercise, compared with increases for those receiving usual care (all P < .001). Conclusion Exercise led to improvement in AI-induced arthralgia in previously inactive breast cancer survivors.

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The impact of age on changes in quality of life among breast cancer survivors treated with breast-conserving surgery and radiotherapy

British Journal of Cancer ◽

10.1038/bjc.2014.632 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 112 (4) ◽

pp. 636-643 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

E J Bantema-Joppe ◽

G H de Bock ◽

M Woltman-van Iersel ◽

D M Busz ◽

A V Ranchor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Quality Of Life ◽

Cancer Survivors ◽

Breast Cancer Survivors ◽

Breast Conserving Surgery ◽

The Impact

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Abstract CT147: The impact of a technology based program on symptom distress among Asian American breast cancer survivors

10.1158/1538-7445.am2021-ct147 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Eun-Ok Im ◽

Jee-Seon Yi ◽

Wonshik Chee

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cancer Survivors ◽

Asian American ◽

Breast Cancer Survivors ◽

Symptom Distress ◽

The Impact

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The Impact of Modifiable Lifestyle Factors on the Prognosis of Breast Cancer Survivors

Breast Care ◽

10.1159/000323303 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 5 (6) ◽

pp. 376-376

Author(s):

Wolfgang Janni

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cancer Survivors ◽

Breast Cancer Survivors ◽

Lifestyle Factors ◽

The Impact ◽

Modifiable Lifestyle Factors

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Divorce after breast cancer diagnosis and its impact on quality of life

Palliative & Supportive Care ◽

10.1017/s1478951521001711 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Danbee Kang ◽

Nayeon Kim ◽

Gayeon Han ◽

Sooyeon Kim ◽

Hoyoung Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Quality Of Life ◽

Cancer Survivors ◽

Cancer Diagnosis ◽

Breast Cancer Survivors ◽

Breast Cancer Diagnosis ◽

Factors Associated ◽

After Cancer ◽

The Impact

Abstract Objective This study aims to identify factors associated with divorce following breast cancer diagnosis and measures the impact of divorce on the quality of life (QoL) of patients. Methods We used cross-sectional survey data collected at breast cancer outpatient clinics in South Korea from November 2018 to April 2019. Adult breast cancer survivors who completed active treatment without any cancer recurrence at the time of the survey (N = 4,366) were included. The participants were classified into two groups: “maintaining marriage” and “being divorced,” between at the survey and at the cancer diagnosis. We performed logistic regression and linear regression to identify the factors associated with divorce after cancer diagnosis and to compare the QoL of divorced and nondivorced survivors. Results Approximately 11.1/1,000 of married breast cancer survivors experienced divorce after cancer diagnosis. Younger age, lower education, and being employed at diagnosis were associated with divorce. Being divorced survivors had significantly lower QoL (Coefficient [Coef] = −7.50; 95% CI = −13.63, −1.36), social functioning (Coef = −9.47; 95% CI = −16.36, −2.57), and body image (Coef = −8.34; 95% CI = −6.29, −0.39) than survivors who remained married. They also experienced more symptoms including pain, insomnia, financial difficulties, and distress due to hair loss. Conclusion Identifying risk factors of divorce will ultimately help ascertain the resources necessary for early intervention.

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The Relationship between Visuospatial Memory and Coping Strategies in Breast Cancer Survivors

Breast Cancer Basic and Clinical Research ◽

10.4137/bcbcr.s6957 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. BCBCR.S6957 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Michelle Ayala-Feliciano ◽

Jaime J. Pons-Valerio ◽

José Pons-Madera ◽

Summer F. Acevedo

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cancer Survivors ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Breast Cancer Survivors ◽

Psychosocial Adaptation ◽

Visuospatial Memory ◽

Neurocognitive Deficits ◽

Immediate Memory ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

Background In the US there are over 2.5 million breast cancer survivors (BCSs), most of whom have required some type of intensive treatment. How individuals cope with the treatment process may relate to why neurocognitive problems arise. Method We explored the impact of treatment for breast cancer (BC) on performance of the Memory Island task, both on working memory and on the general index of cognitive performance in relation to coping strategies of BCSs compared to age-matched controls. Results The evidence obtained suggests a reduced performance in visuospatial memory in BCSs. Those who used emotional coping strategies displayed reduced performance in visuospatial learning and immediate memory. Those women who used problem-focused coping strategies performed better in those tasks measuring psychomotor speed, general intelligence, and delayed visuospatial memory. Conclusions It is concluded that further investigation of the relationship between coping strategies and performance on visuospatial tasks may provide useful information on residual levels of neurocognitive deficits and psychosocial adaptation in BCSs.

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