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Self‐efficacy and fear of cancer progression during the year following diagnosis of breast cancer
Author(s) -
Melchior Hanne,
Büscher Cathrin,
Thorenz Andrea,
Grochocka Anna,
Koch Uwe,
Watzke Birgit
Publication year - 2013
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.2054
Subject(s) - breast cancer , medicine , cancer , dysfunctional family , prospective cohort study , oncology , disease , gynecology , gastroenterology , clinical psychology
Objective The aim of this study was to investigate fear of disease progression (FoP) during the year following diagnosis of breast cancer and its association with general self‐efficacy (SE). Methods In a prospective study, 118 breast cancer patients were recruited shortly after diagnosis disclosure (response rate: 54%) and at 1‐year follow‐up (follow‐up rate: 90%). Participants completed self‐report measures of general self‐efficacy (General Self‐Efficacy Scale) and fear of progression (short form of the Fear of Progression Questionnaire). Results Cross‐sectional regression analysis revealed that high FoP is significantly associated with low SE, even when controlling for demographic and medical characteristics (total R ² = 0.17). Having children and a relatively short time since diagnosis also significantly predicted higher FoP. Longitudinal analyses showed that FoP decreased significantly over time ( p = 0.001; d = 0.25), but a significant decrease was only observed for patients with high initial FoP ( p < 0.001; d = 0.74) and not for those with low initial FoP ( p = 0.688; d = 0.08). SE was not a significant predictor of FoP at follow‐up when controlling for initial FoP and other patient characteristics (incremental R ² = 0.001; p = 0.674; total R ² = 0.47). Overall, only initial FoP significantly predicted FoP at follow‐up ( p < 0.001; β = 0.671). Conclusion Findings that low SE is associated with high FoP can help to improve the treatment of dysfunctional fears in breast cancer patients. As FoP changes only slightly over time, treatment to enhance SE and reduce FoP should be initiated soon after disease disclosure. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.