Correlations of Ambivalence over Emotional Expression and Social Support with Adherence to Treatment in Cancer Patients

Background & Aims: Cancer is a common chronic disease that leads to numerous psychological reactions in patients and affects the reactions of individuals to the physical symptoms of the disease and adherence to treatment in patients. According to forecasts, the number of new cases of cancer in 2025 will reach more than 130,000 people in Iran, which is about 35% more than the present time. The complex and longitudinal process of cancer treatment leads to many psychological complications in patients and their families and causes severe damage to their mental health and quality of family and social life. Various studies have identified several psychological factors that affect people's reactions to physical symptoms of the disease and adherence to treatment in patients. One of the psychological factors affecting health and illness is emotion. It is believed that expressing or not expressing emotion alone cannot be problematic. What causes the problem is the conflict or ambivalence that one experiences in expressing emotion. On the other hand, expressing emotions towards others has a positive relationship with social support. Those who are ambivalent about expressing their emotions toward others are more likely to miss out on the opportunity to receive support from others; while, supporting cancer patients protects them against the negative consequences of this disease and acts like a cure, and has a strong relationship with patients' psychological performance. On the other hand, one of the important issues about patients with chronic diseases which affects the effectiveness of planned therapies is the patient's adherence to treatment. In chronic diseases in which the treatment process takes a long time, adherence to treatment usually decreases; while, adherence to treatment is one of the most important factors in controlling these diseases, and poor adherence to treatment is an alarm for both patients and health care delivery systems, because from a clinical point of view, not following the treatment can reduce the beneficial therapeutic effects, increase complications, and increase hospitalization or even death in patients. The above mentioned points and review of previous researches indicate that many studies have examined psychological variables in cancer patients. However, poor adherence or non- adherence to treatment instructions to develop the necessary training and provide it to patients and their families. Also, according to the results of research on the high level of ambivalence over emotional expressions in cancer patients and its negative effects on adherence to treatment, nurses can have a significant role in reducing ambivalence over emotional expressions in patients by communicating and empathizing with patients and encouraging them to recognize and express their emotions and concerns and promote their self-expression. This way, the nurses can provide better treatment and higher quality of life for patients. The research had some limitations, including the limited and specific statistical community and it is suggested that this research be conducted in other cities and provinces and with different cultures in order to increase the generalizability of the research results. It is also suggested that due to the different complications and problems of different types of cancers in patients, this study be performed on different types of cancers separately and review the results.