TY - JOUR
T1 - An exploratory analysis of fear of recurrence among African-American breast cancer survivors
AU - Taylor, Teletia R.
AU - Huntley, Edward D.
AU - Sween, Jennifer
AU - Makambi, Kepher
AU - Mellman, Thomas A.
AU - Williams, Carla D.
AU - Carter-Nolan, Pamela
AU - Frederick, Wayne
N1 - Funding Information:
Author Note This research was supported by a grant from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation: Population Specific Grants Program: POP0600475. T.R.Taylor(*).C.D.Williams.W.Frederick Howard University Cancer Center, 2041 Georgia Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20060, USA e-mail: [email protected]
PY - 2012/9
Y1 - 2012/9
N2 - Background Fear of recurrence (FOR) is a psychological concern that has been studied extensively in cancer survivors but has not been adequately examined in African-American breast cancer survivors. Purpose This exploratory study describes the extent and nature of FOR in African-American breast cancer survivors. FOR is examined in relation to socio-demographic characteristics, treatment-related characteristics, psychological distress, and quality of life (QOL). Methods Participants completed questionnaires assessing FOR, psychological distress, QOL, and demographic and treatment characteristics. Pearson r correlations, t tests, and ANOVAs were used to determine the association between FOR and demographic and treatment-related characteristics. Hierarchical multiple regression models were performed to investigate the degree to which FOR dimensions account for the variance in QOL and psychological distress. Results Fifty-one African-American breast cancer survivors participated in this study. The mean age of participants was 64.24 (SD=12.3). Overall fears as well as concerns about death and health were rated as low to moderate. Role worries and womanhood worries were very low. Inverse relationships were observed between age and FOR dimensions. FOR was positively correlated with measures of psychological distress and negatively correlated with QOL. FOR significantly accounted for a portion of the variance in QOL and distress after controlling for other variables. Conclusions This study suggests that African-American women in this sample demonstrated some degree of FOR. Results indicate that FOR among African-American breast cancer survivors decreases with age and time since diagnosis and co-occurs with psychological distress as well as diminished quality of life.
AB - Background Fear of recurrence (FOR) is a psychological concern that has been studied extensively in cancer survivors but has not been adequately examined in African-American breast cancer survivors. Purpose This exploratory study describes the extent and nature of FOR in African-American breast cancer survivors. FOR is examined in relation to socio-demographic characteristics, treatment-related characteristics, psychological distress, and quality of life (QOL). Methods Participants completed questionnaires assessing FOR, psychological distress, QOL, and demographic and treatment characteristics. Pearson r correlations, t tests, and ANOVAs were used to determine the association between FOR and demographic and treatment-related characteristics. Hierarchical multiple regression models were performed to investigate the degree to which FOR dimensions account for the variance in QOL and psychological distress. Results Fifty-one African-American breast cancer survivors participated in this study. The mean age of participants was 64.24 (SD=12.3). Overall fears as well as concerns about death and health were rated as low to moderate. Role worries and womanhood worries were very low. Inverse relationships were observed between age and FOR dimensions. FOR was positively correlated with measures of psychological distress and negatively correlated with QOL. FOR significantly accounted for a portion of the variance in QOL and distress after controlling for other variables. Conclusions This study suggests that African-American women in this sample demonstrated some degree of FOR. Results indicate that FOR among African-American breast cancer survivors decreases with age and time since diagnosis and co-occurs with psychological distress as well as diminished quality of life.
KW - African-American
KW - Breast cancer survivors
KW - Fear of recurrence
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U2 - 10.1007/s12529-011-9183-4
DO - 10.1007/s12529-011-9183-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 21915625
AN - SCOPUS:84868364026
SN - 1070-5503
VL - 19
SP - 280
EP - 287
JO - International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
JF - International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
IS - 3
ER -