Abstract
BackgroundDespite the abundance of clinical data available for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), little research on the psychological well-being of breast cancer survivors has been published. We investigate the extent to which self-compassion accounted for the association between psychological well-being (depression, anxiety) and death anxiety in breast cancer survivors.MethodsA cross-sectional study design was applied. Participants were recruited from three departments of oncology in Zanjan, Iran. Data were collected from 210 breast cancer patients. Participants completed self-report measures. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationship among the study variables. Bootstrapping analyses were used to test the significance of indirect effects.ResultsCorrelational analyses revealed that depression and anxiety were significantly and positively related to death anxiety (r = 0.77, p < 0.01; r = 0.85, p < 0.01, respectively) and negatively to self-compassion (r = − 0.48, p < 0.01; r = − 0.53, p < 0.01, respectively). Bootstrapping analyses revealed significant indirect effects of depression (β = 0.065, SE = 0.35, p < 0.03, 95% CI [LL = − 0.0083, UL: − 0.1654]) and anxiety (β = 0.089, SE = 0.09, p < 0.04, 95% CI [LL = − 0.0247, UL: − 0.1987]) on death anxiety through self-compassion.ConclusionsFindings from this study indicate that self-compassion may be considered as one treatment strategy to improve psychological well-being of cancer patients in the new context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights
It is universally accepted that the first confirmed COVID19 case was recognized in Wuhan, China [1]
Iran, when a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of two cases who died in Qom turned positive for COVID-19 [4]
The results of the current COVID19 pandemic such as severe acute respiratory syndrome and high mortality [5], the significant changes caused by social distancing in behavior associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, may exclusively and completely have noticeable effects on mental health [6, 7] especially in populations with serious illness
Summary
It is universally accepted that the first confirmed COVID19 case was recognized in Wuhan, China [1]. The COVID-19 pandemic may increase concerns among breast cancer survivors about the severe risks. Severe anxiety and loneliness brought on by social isolation and quarantine, when applied for long time, are linked to a higher risk of death in people with cancer [9]. Death anxiety is characterized as a feeling of concern, fear, or dread brought about by the realistic prospect of dying, as opposed to general anxiety [11]. Despite the abundance of clinical data available for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), little research on the psychological well-being of breast cancer survivors has been published. We investigate the extent to which self-compassion accounted for the association between psychological well-being (depression, anxiety) and death anxiety in breast cancer survivors
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