Research Centre for Psychological Health, School of Psychology, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
St. Vincent's' Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Psychooncology. 2018 Aug;27(8):2009-2015. doi: 10.1002/pon.4762. Epub 2018 Jun 21.
Gender role conflict or the negative consequences of male socialization may compromise men's adjustment to prostate cancer by shaping how patients perceive and cope with their illness. Given mixed findings regarding how gender role conflict interacts with emotional approach coping to regulate distress in prostate cancer patients, the present study examined the effects of emotional approach coping, when considered alongside self-compassion, the ability to be kind and understanding of oneself.
Ninety-two prostate cancer patients completed questionnaires measuring gender role conflict, emotional approach coping, self-compassion, and distress. A moderated mediation model was tested, where emotional approach coping mediated the path between gender role conflict and distress and self-compassion moderated paths between (1) gender role conflict and emotional approach coping, and (2) gender role conflict and distress.
Results partially supported this model with all study variables predicting distress in the expected directions. Emotional approach coping did not mediate associations between gender role conflict and distress; however, self-compassion did moderate the pathway between these variables.
Results indicated that higher levels of self-compassion might protect men from distress related to emasculating aspects of the cancer experience. Further investigation is required to understand how self-compassion interacts with emotionality and subsequently influences distress in prostate cancer patients. To better understand the effectiveness of emotional approach coping in reducing distress in prostate cancer patients, it is recommended that future research accounts for the receptiveness of social environments to men's emotional displays.
性别角色冲突或男性社会化的负面影响，可能会通过影响患者对疾病的感知和应对方式，影响男性对前列腺癌的适应。鉴于性别角色冲突与情绪趋近应对方式如何相互作用以调节前列腺癌患者的痛苦方面存在混合结果，本研究探讨了情绪趋近应对方式的影响，同时考虑了自我同情，即对自己友善和理解的能力。
92 名前列腺癌患者完成了测量性别角色冲突、情绪趋近应对方式、自我同情和痛苦的问卷。检验了一个调节中介模型，其中情绪趋近应对方式在性别角色冲突和痛苦之间的路径中起中介作用，自我同情在（1）性别角色冲突和情绪趋近应对方式，以及（2）性别角色冲突和痛苦之间的路径中起调节作用。
结果部分支持了这一模型，所有研究变量都以预期的方向预测了痛苦。情绪趋近应对方式没有中介性别角色冲突与痛苦之间的关联；然而，自我同情确实调节了这些变量之间的路径。
结果表明，较高的自我同情水平可能会保护男性免受与癌症经历中去势方面相关的痛苦。需要进一步研究以了解自我同情如何与情绪相互作用，从而影响前列腺癌患者的痛苦。为了更好地理解情绪趋近应对方式在减轻前列腺癌患者痛苦方面的有效性，建议未来的研究考虑到社会环境对男性情绪表达的接受程度。
