Psychosocial predictors of psychological, neurochemical and immunological symptoms of acute stress among breast cancer patients.

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of locus of control, social support and their interaction on acute stress indicators as a consequence of the communication of the results of a breast biopsy. Immunological and psychological indicators were evaluated in 50 patients with breast tenderness. We found little evidence for the existence of a relationship between psychosocial variables considered to be stress indicators and acute stress symptoms. Concerning the results of the first assessment, only the relation between locus of control and psychological distress was meaningful. With regard to the existence of a relationship between psychosocial variables and natural killer cell system indicators, only the number of natural killer cells (NKC) could be explained by the psychosocial model including locus of control, perceived social support from relatives and the interaction between locus of control and perceived social support from relatives.