Assessing illness representations of breast cancer - A comparison of patients with healthy and benign controls
Assessing illness representations of breast cancer - A comparison of patients with healthy and benign controls
复制标题
DOI：
10.1016/j.jpsychores.2004.09.011
复制
发表时间：
2005-04-01
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
Spanea, E
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Anagnostopoulos, F;Spanea, E
目的：癌症的疾病表征可能包括对疾病的不准确信息、误解或负面概念化，这可能影响筛查行为。本研究探讨了健康女性和乳腺癌患者对乳腺癌的表征之间的差异。研究方法：横断面设计包括147名连续的无乳腺疾病或良性乳腺疾病的女性，以及102名从公立癌症医院乳腺门诊招募的乳腺癌患者。受访者完成了疾病感知问卷（IPQ）的修改版本，评估乳腺癌的疾病表征的六个方面。结果如下：多重比较试验显示，非恶性妇女的疾病陈述的特点是弱信念乳腺癌的可治愈性/可控性，结合高估的负面的身体，社会和经济后果的乳腺癌。此外，这些妇女对环境因素（辐射暴露、饮食和污染）在乳腺癌病因中的作用有更强的信念，对机会在疾病发作和病程中的作用表达了更大的分歧。总结：乳腺癌的疾病表征似乎在确定外行女性对乳腺癌的不利和夸大的方式中起着重要作用。这是在疾病的社会结构框架内讨论的，它将乳腺癌描述为一种致命和毁容的疾病，以及非专业文学和媒体对其施加的强大影响。All rights reserved.
Objective: Illness representations of cancer may comprise inaccurate information, misconceptions, or negative conceptualizations of the disease, which may influence screening behaviors. This study examined the differences between healthy women's and breast cancer patients' representations of breast cancer. Methods: The cross-sectional design involved 147 consecutive women free from breast diseases, or with benign breast conditions, and 102 patients with breast cancer recruited from the outpatient breast clinic of a public cancer hospital. Respondents completed a modified version of the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ) that assessed six dimensions of illness representations of breast cancer. Results: Multiple comparison tests revealed that nonmalignant women's illness representations were characterized by weak beliefs concerning breast cancer curability/controllability, combined with an overestimation of the negative physical, social, and economic consequences of breast cancer. Moreover, these women held stronger beliefs about the role of environmental factors (radiation exposure, diet, and pollution) in breast cancer causation and expressed greater disagreement on the role of chance in the onset and course of the illness. Conclusion: Illness representations of breast cancer appear to play a significant role in determining the unfavorable and exaggerated way in which laywomen perceive breast cancer. This is discussed within the framework of the social construction of the disease, which portrays breast cancer as a fatal and disfiguring disease, and the strong influence lay literature and the media exert on it. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.