Correlations And Correlates Of Post-Traumatic Growth And Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms In Patients With Breast Cancer

Hong-Ming Chen; Vincent Chin-Hung Chen; Han-Pin Hsiao; Yi-Ping Weng; Ya-Ting Hsu; Jun-Cheng Weng; Jian-An Su; Yi-Lung Chen

doi:10.2147/NDT.S218450

Correlations And Correlates Of Post-Traumatic Growth And Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms In Patients With Breast Cancer

Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2019 Nov 1:15:3051-3060. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S218450. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Hong-Ming Chen^#^{1

2}, Vincent Chin-Hung Chen^#^{1

2}, Han-Pin Hsiao¹, Yi-Ping Weng¹, Ya-Ting Hsu¹, Jun-Cheng Weng^{1

3}, Jian-An Su^{1

2

4}, Yi-Lung Chen^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Medical Foundation, Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan.
² School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
³ Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Institute of Technology, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Healthcare Administration, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Psychology, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Purpose: Although post-traumatic growth (PTG) and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) might develop and coexist after a major trauma, few studies have simultaneously examined them in patients with breast cancer. This study investigated the correlation between PTG and PTSS and their differential correlates in patients with breast cancer.

Patients and methods: Overall, 145 patients with breast cancer were recruited. PTG and PTSS were assessed using the PTG inventory and the Chinese version of startle, physiological arousal, anger, and numbness, respectively. We investigated the effects of demographics, chemotherapy, depression, family support, alexithymia, and anxiety symptoms on PTG and PTSS. Multivariate linear regression analyses were performed to select the independent correlates of PTSS and PTG.

Result: An association was observed between PTG and PTSS (r = 0.21). Based on multiple regression models, the common correlate of PTG (β = 0.271) and PTSS (β = 0.212) was anxiety symptoms. Differential independent correlates were years of education (β = 0.272), receiving chemotherapy (β = 0.248), and family support (β = 0.259) for PTG, and chronic pain (β = 0.316) and poor cognition (β = -0.350) for PTSS.

Conclusion: Differential correlates were observed for PTG and PTSS in patients with breast cancer. Possible mechanisms and relationships between PTG and PTSS were discussed.

Keywords: breast cancer; chemotherapy; family support; post-traumatic growth; post-traumatic stress symptoms.