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The role of appearance investment in the adjustment of women with breast cancer
Author(s) -
Moreira Helena,
Silva Sónia,
Canavarro Maria Cristina
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
psycho‐oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.41
H-Index - 137
eISSN - 1099-1611
pISSN - 1057-9249
DOI - 10.1002/pon.1647
Subject(s) - breast cancer , psychology , portuguese , facet (psychology) , salience (neuroscience) , anxiety , clinical psychology , cancer , social psychology , psychiatry , medicine , personality , cognitive psychology , big five personality traits , linguistics , philosophy
Objective : Appearance investment can be considered an important factor in the explanation of individual differences in adjustment to breast cancer. This study aims to analyze the role of this variable on a set of adjustment outcomes, namely, quality of life (QOL), emotional adjustment (depression and anxiety) and fear of negative evaluations. The differential role of motivational salience facet of appearance investment (MS; the individual's efforts to be or feel attractive), conceptualized as a protective factor, and of self‐evaluative salience facet (SES; the importance an individual places on physical appearance for their definition of self‐worth), conceptualized as a vulnerability factor, is explored. Methods : This cross‐sectional study included 117 Portuguese breast cancer patients (mean age=52.47; SD=8.81), on average 2.32 months (SD=2.17) post‐diagnosis. Appearance investment was measured by the ASI‐R; QOL by the WHOQOL‐bref; emotional adjustment by the HADS; and fear of negative evaluations by the FNE (Portuguese versions). Several hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted for each outcome, using investment facets as a predictor variable. Results : Both facets of investment contributed to the explanation of social ( p ⩽0.001) and psychological ( p ⩽0.001) QOL and also depression ( p ⩽0.001), with SES being associated with poorer results and MS with better outcomes. SES also predicted higher levels of fear of negative evaluations ( p ⩽0.001). Conclusions : This study provided significant information about the role of appearance investment in the adjustment of breast cancer patients and added empirical support to SES‐MS distinction. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.