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Social support and psychosocial functioning in women after mastectomy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 October 2019

Konrad Janowski Open the ORCID record for Konrad Janowski [Opens in a new window] ,
Małgorzata Tatala ,
Tomasz Jedynak  and
Karolina Wałachowska
Konrad Janowski*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Małgorzata Tatala
Affiliation:
Department of Developmental Psychology, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
Tomasz Jedynak
Affiliation:
Centre for Ukrainian and European Scientific Cooperation, Uzhorod, Ukraine
Karolina Wałachowska
Affiliation:
Centre for Ukrainian and European Scientific Cooperation, Uzhorod, Ukraine
*
Author for correspondence: Konrad Janowski, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw, 59 Okopowa Street, 01-030Warsaw, Poland. E-mail: janowski@vizja.pl
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Abstract

Objective

Social support has been reported as beneficial for the psychological functioning of people coping with a disease. The objective of this study was to verify whether levels of perceived social support are associated with psychosocial functioning in women who have had a mastectomy and whether specific types of social support are linked to specific indices of functioning.

Method

Seventy women with a history of mastectomy completed questionnaires measuring their psychosocial functioning as related to their health status: Disease-Related Appraisal Scale, Acceptance of Life with the Disease Scale and Beck Depression Inventory. All participants also completed a measure of perceived social support (Disease-Related Social Support Scale).

Results

Women who reported higher levels of perceived social support revealed statistically significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms, higher appraisals of their disease in terms of challenge and value, and lower appraisals of their disease in terms of obstacle/loss. Women with greater social support also revealed higher levels of acceptance of life with the disease compared to those with less social support. Regression analyses showed that spiritual support was the type of support that significantly accounted for the variance in the majority of functioning indices. Some indices of functioning were also significantly accounted for by emotional and instrumental support.

Significance of the results

The process of psychological adjustment to a life-threatening disease such as breast cancer depends on multiple variables; however, social support, including spiritual support, seems to be one significant contributor to this process.

Keywords

AdjustmentIllness perceptionsMastectomySocial support
Type
Original Article
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 18 , Issue 3 , June 2020 , pp. 314 - 321
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

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