Breast‐related stereotype threat contributes to a symptom cluster in women with breast cancer

Abstract

In clinical practice, breast-related stereotype threat should be measured together with prevalent symptoms (e.g. anxiety, depression and fatigue) in patients with breast cancer. Our findings will aid the development of interventions for improving the mental health of women with breast cancer.

Research on body image cognition, social support and illness perception in breast cancer patients with different surgical methods

“…Breasts, as an external organ and symbol of women, are subject to long-term external gazes and comments (Li et al, 2017). In the absence of breast tissue, patients' femininity is undermined (Jabłoński et al, 2018), generating a sense of shame and affecting their body image cognition (Saeed et al, 2021).…”

Moving beyond Table 1: A critical review of the literature addressing social determinants of health in chronic condition symptom cluster research

“…Operationalization of the psychoneurological symptom cluster was heterogeneous among studies. Similarly, patients with breast‐related stereotype threat were more likely to report a symptom cluster of anxiety, depression, and fatigue (J. Li et al, 2017). Significant associations were also reported between women/females and gastrointestinal type symptoms in esophageal (Guo et al, 2019) and bladder (Ren et al, 2017) cancer patients and circulatory type symptoms in heart failure patients (Son & Won, 2018).…”

“…Stereotype threat—defined as when an individual who has a negative stereotype about a group conforms to the stereotype after becoming a member of the group; measured using a self‐report question (i.e., Do you think that disfigurement of your breast will decrease your womanliness? ; J. Li et al, 2017)…”

“… Neighborhood and Built Environment Residence—rural versus urban or country for multicountry studies Nutrition—adequacy of fruit and vegetable consumption Social and Community Context Age Sex/gender Race/ethnicity Married/partner status (e.g., single, married/living with a partner, divorced/separated, widowed) Living arrangement—who a participant cohabitates with (e.g., alone, with family) Religious belief—religious versus not religious or religion (e.g., Christian, Catholic, Buddhist) Social support—perceived level of support, notation of the main source of support, social difficulty, social constraint, or social function or well‐being Child care—percentage caring for a child(ren) Number of children Adult care—percentage caring for adult(s) Place of birth—country of birth Years in the United States Immigration age Acculturation—measured using a self‐report instrument (i.e., Stephenson Multigroup Acculturation Scale) Stereotype threat—defined as when an individual who has a negative stereotype about a group conforms to the stereotype after becoming a member of the group; measured using a self‐report question (i.e., Do you think that disfigurement of your breast will decrease your womanliness? ; J. Li et al, 2017) Perceived stress—measured using self‐report instruments (e.g., Perceived Stress Scale)…”

Association of Depressive Symptoms with Perceived Stress and Proinflammatory Cytokines in Treatment-Naïve Patients with Breast Cancer

“…The diagnosis of cancer is a life-threatening event to every individual. Meanwhile, the function of breast relating to femininity and fostering increases the psychological stress greatly (Li et al, 2017). At the moment of recruitment, the participants were shocked by the diagnosis and were uncertain about the future, which may have aggravated their psychological stress.…”