Krok Dariusz, Telka Ewa, Falewicz Adam, Szcześniak Małgorzata
Institute of Psychology, University of Opole, 45-040 Opole, Poland.
Department of Radiotherapy, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Gliwice Branch, 44-101 Gliwice, Poland.
J Clin Med. 2024 Mar 28;13(7):1974. doi: 10.3390/jcm13071974.
: The research indicates that painful experiences can significantly affect the fear of cancer recurrence among cancer survivors, which is a distressing concern that influences both physiological and psychological recovery. This cross-sectional study aims to advance our comprehension of the associations between total pain and the fear of recurrence in post-treatment cancer patients by examining two potential mediators: psychological flexibility and mentalization. Three hundred and thirty-five participants (aged 22 to 88, 49.1% female) who had finished their cancer treatment completed self-report assessments of total pain, their fear of recurrence, psychological flexibility, and mentalization. The serial mediation analysis showed that all dimensions of total pain were positively and indirectly related to the fear of recurrence through psychological flexibility and mentalization in serial. Additionally, gender was found to moderate these serial mediational effects. In line with the psychological flexibility model, personal capacities to face difficult internal/external problems and interpret one's behavior in motivational terms can counterbalance a patient's negative emotions and feelings related to the illness. Gender factors also determine the way in which post-treatment cancer patients manage potential future anxiety and fears.
该研究表明，痛苦经历会显著影响癌症幸存者对癌症复发的恐惧，这是一个令人苦恼的问题，会影响生理和心理恢复。这项横断面研究旨在通过考察两个潜在中介因素：心理灵活性和心理化，来增进我们对治疗后癌症患者的总体疼痛与复发恐惧之间关联的理解。335名完成癌症治疗的参与者（年龄在22至88岁之间，49.1%为女性）完成了关于总体疼痛、复发恐惧、心理灵活性和心理化的自我报告评估。序列中介分析表明，总体疼痛的所有维度都通过心理灵活性和心理化依次与复发恐惧呈正向间接相关。此外，发现性别会调节这些序列中介效应。根据心理灵活性模型，面对困难的内部/外部问题并从动机角度解释自己行为的个人能力，可以抵消患者与疾病相关的负面情绪和感受。性别因素也决定了治疗后癌症患者应对潜在未来焦虑和恐惧的方式。
