BMC Psychiatry (Jan 2025)

Dyadic effects of illness perception and maladaptive cognitive-emotional regulation strategies on the fear of cancer recurrence in breast cancer patients and spouses: an actor-partner interdependence mediation model

  • Hui Ren,
  • Tianye Yang,
  • Songli Mei,
  • Zhu Zhu,
  • Jianjun Shi,
  • Lingling Tong,
  • Jia Yang,
  • Yabin Sun

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-024-06354-2
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 25, no. 1
pp. 1 – 8

Abstract

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Abstract Purpose Breast cancer, as a stressful event, profoundly impacts the entire family, especially patients and their spouses. This study used a dyadic analysis approach to explore the dyadic effects of illness perception on the fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) and whether maladaptive cognitive-emotional regulation strategies acted as a mediator in breast cancer patient-spouse dyads. Methods This was a cross-sectional study, and 202 dyads of breast cancer patients and their spouses were enrolled. Illness perception, maladaptive cognitive-emotional regulation strategies, and FCR were assessed by the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ), the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), and the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory Short Form (FCRI-SF), respectively. Data were analyzed using the actor-partner interdependence mediation model. Results This study found that, for patients and spouses, maladaptive cognitive-emotional regulation strategies mediated the actor effects of illness perception on FCR. That is, illness perception was positively related to their maladaptive cognitive-emotional regulation strategies, which increased the risk of FCR. Another important finding was that patients’ illness perception had significant direct and indirect effects on spouses’ FCR through spouses’ maladaptive cognitive-emotional regulation strategies. Conclusions Negative illness perception perceived by patients and spouses can increase their FCR by adapting their maladaptive cognitive-emotional regulation strategies. Furthermore, illness perception perceived by patients can also increase spouses’ FCR through spouses’ maladaptive cognitive-emotional regulation strategies. Medical staff should identify vulnerable patients and spouses with higher illness perception and maladaptive cognitive-emotional regulation strategies and make focused interventions to decrease the risk of FCR of both breast cancer patients and their spouses.

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