Self-Criticism, Neediness, and Distress Among Women Undergoing Treatment for Breast Cancer: A Preliminary Test of the Moderating Role of Adjustment to Illness

Abstract

A diagnosis of cancer can be extremely stressful, and for that reason, cancer patients’ adjustment has been widely studied. Little is known, however, about how patients’ personality vulnerabilities affect their adjustment to cancer. The present study examined the moderating role of several psychological strategies of adjustment to cancer in the associations between the personality predispositions of self-criticism and neediness and distress among women diagnosed with breast cancer. Portuguese women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time (n _ 50) completed the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale questionnaires. Both self-criticism and neediness were found to be associated with increased levels of distress, with a stronger association observed for neediness. Hierarchical regressions indicated that more adaptive adjustment to cancer (i.e., low levels of helplessness/hopelessness, low levels of anxious preoccupation, high levels of fatalism, and high levels of fighting spirit) moderates the association between neediness and distress. There was no evidence that any of the adjustment variables had any mediating effect on the relationship between the personality variables (self-criticism and neediness) and distress. Results are discussed in the context of personality vulnerability and maladaptive psychological response to the disease as a stressful life event. Implications for treatment are discussed. Though promising, the results are preliminary and more research on larger samples is warranted.