Psychological Predictors of Early Access for a Doctor among Women with Primary Luminal Breast Cancer

Abstract

Introduction. One of the most common localizations where there is a connection between early diagnosis, timely treatment and a successful outcome of a disease is breast cancer. The behavior of a woman is associated with whether she is seeking medical help earlier or later, this now is for the first time determined, among other things, by a number of psychological characteristics of her personality. These can be cognitive beliefs included in her picture of the world, locus of control, resilience, and life orientation. The aim of this study is to identify a set of psychological predictive markers that determine the moment of initial medical treatment (early or late stages of the disease) of women with primary luminal breast cancer. Materials and methods. Survey methods were used as research methods: World assumptions scale R. Janoff-Bulman (by M.A. Padun, A.V. Kotelnikova), locus of control scale J.B. Rotter (by E.F. Bazhin, E.A. Golynkina, L.M. Etkind), Life Orientation Test M.F. Scheier, C.S. Carver (by Tsiring D.A., Evnina K.Yu.), Hardiness Survey S. Maddi (by D. Leontiev), methods of mathematical statistics: methods of descriptive statistics, univariate analysis of variance, discriminant analysis. The study involved 138 women with breast cancer in the I-III stages of the disease, who for the first time sought professional medical help. Results. The study of the psychological characteristics of women with breast cancer who first consulted a doctor at various stages of the disease revealed a set of predictive markers that contribute to seeking medical help earlier or later. Women who were diagnosed with cancer at stage I of the disease (early treatment) were characterized by: in comparison with the others, low assessment of their own significance and value, low indicators of life orientation (dispositional pessimism). Whereas in women who applied at stage III of the disease (late treatment), to a lesser extent compared to others, their belief of control in general manifested, however, in situations of achievement and professional relations, the locus of control of these women is internal. Also, for women who applied at The study was funded by Russian Science Foundation, project number 19-18-00426. the third stage of the disease, the indicators of engagement and resilience are lower than for women who applied at the early stages. Analysis of the psychological variables that differentiate women according to the stages of primary treatment showed that resilience, internality in the field of their achievement and life orientation affect the behavior of women associated with the initial visit to the doctor.