ADAPTIVE COPING STRATEGIES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH POST-SURGICAL DISTRESS REDUCTION IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSIS: A PRE-POST STUDY

Introduction: Breast cancer surgery may have a profound impact on women’ needs and coping abilities. Additionally, a high percentage of breast cancer survivors report considerable levels of distress that might, however, elicit resilience and adaptive coping strategies, based on situational factors. Hence, the present study aims at investigating pre-/post-surgery distress variation in women diagnosed with breast cancer, and at better characterizing the potential association between such variation and different types of coping strategies. Methods: One hundred and fifty women diagnosed with breast cancer (mean age=59.37; SD=±13.23) were administered the Distress Thermometer and the Brief COPE before (T0) and after (T1) the surgery (±7days). Data were analysed through: (1) the Wilcoxon S-R test, to detect changes in distress levels between T0 and T1; (2) factor analysis and multiple linear regression, allowing for the prediction of such changes based on types of coping strategies assessed through the Brief COPE. All p values were <0.05. Results: The Wilcoxon S-R test revealed a significant distress reduction from T0 to T1 (TW=-5.68<-zα/2=-1.96; p<0.001). Factor analysis allowed to extract and rotate through Varimax five distinct components, i.e., 1.active coping and planning; 2.venting + use of emotional and instrumental support; 3.humor + positive reframing + self-blame; 4.denial + behavioral disengagement; 5.religion. Regression analysis revealed that, among these 5 components, lower distress levels at T1 were significantly predicted by T0 adaptive coping strategies (e.g., planning; use of emotional support) belonging to the first component (p=0.014). Conclusion: The present study revealed that T0 adaptive coping strategies significantly contributed to distress reduction in T1. These findings highlight the crucial need of providing psychological support to breast cancer patients in the pre-intervention phase in a timely and individualized way.