Distress facing increased genetic risk of cancer: The role of social support and emotional suppression |
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Institution: | 1. Centre for Psychology at University of Porto (CPUP), Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences at University of Porto (FPCEUP), 4200-135 Porto, Portugal;2. Cancer Genetics Group, Research Centre of IPO Porto (CI-IPOP)/RISE@CI-IPOP (Health Research Network), Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto (IPO Porto)/Porto Comprehensive Cancer Centre (Porto.CCC), 4200-072 Porto, Portugal;3. Psychology Service, Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal;4. Medical Genetics Service, Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal |
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Abstract: | ObjectivesHealthy individuals from hereditary cancer families undergoing genetic testing for cancer susceptibility (GTC) report more distress when they perceive their social support as low and suppress their emotions. This study aimed to explore how suppressing emotions and perceiving others as unsupportive are related with cancer-risk distress.MethodsWe performed a regression-based mediation analysis to assess if expressive suppression mediates or is mediated by perceived social support in the relation with cancer-risk distress. Participants were 125 healthy adults aged over 18 (M = 36.07, SD = 12.86), mostly female (72,4%), who undergone GTC to assess the presence of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer or Lynch syndromes.ResultsControlling for age and gender, we found a moderate size indirect effect of social support on cancer-risk distress through expressive suppression (β = ?0.095) and a direct effect of expressive suppression on cancer-risk distress.ConclusionsWhen healthy individuals from hereditary cancer families perceive their social network as less responsive, they tend to not express their emotions, which relates to increased distress facing GTC.Practice implicationsPractitioners may assess cancer-risk related distress before the GTC and offer distressed individuals interventions focused on changing emotion regulation strategies in a safe group context. |
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Keywords: | Hereditary cancer Genetic testing Emotion regulation Social support Cancer-risk distress Expressive suppression |
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