Abstract
Causal attribution among women with breast cancer was studied. The study included 157 women outpatients with breast cancer. A form for sociodemographic and clinical data and the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) were used. The results showed that women attributed breast cancer primarily to psychological causes, which does not correspond to known multifactorial causes validated by the scientific community. Providing high quality, patient-centered care requires sensitivity to breast cancer women’s beliefs about the causes of their cancer and awareness of how it can influence patient’s health behaviors after diagnosis. If women with breast cancer attribute the illness to modifiable factors then they can keep a healthy lifestyle, improving their recovery and decrease the probability of cancer recurrence after diagnosis.
Highlights
Breast cancer is an illness caused by uncontrolled growth of breast cells with abnormal characteristics, caused by a mutation in its genetic material (INCA, 2015)
– Causes of the illness dimension of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R): a translation into Portuguese from Portugal by Figueiras et al (2002) was used in order to assess illness representations according to the theoretical model of self-regulation of health behavior proposed by Leventhal et al (1984; 2003)
The results showed that the causal attributions of breast cancer do not always match multifactorial causes of
Summary
Breast cancer is an illness caused by uncontrolled growth of breast cells with abnormal characteristics, caused by a mutation in its genetic material (INCA, 2015). According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer - IARC, malignant neoplasm of the breast is the leading cause of cancer in women, which corresponds to 25 % of all cases of cancer and the second leading cause of death by malignant tumors in the world (IARC, 2015; INCA, 2015). Cancer is an illness closely related to the fear of death and it brings along concerns about the negative consequences of the People have multiple cognitive representations of illnesses such as cancer. The representations encompass diverse illness beliefs, including causal attribution (Leventhal et al 1980). This process of seeking explanations about the illness etiology can be classified into three dimensions: locus, stability, and controllability (Wainer, 1985). Causal attributions centered on uncontrollable aspects relate more to avoidant behaviors whereas causal attributions focused on modifiable and controllable causes tend to result in behaviors oriented to coping with the condition (Dumalao-Canaria et al 2014)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
