Exploring the relationship between the body self and the sense of coherence in women after surgical treatment for breast cancer

Abstract

Objective Analysis of the relationship between the body self (BS) and the sense of coherence (SOC) in women after breast surgery due to cancer in comparison with a control group. Methods A cross‐sectional study in a group of 78 women using the body–self questionnaire (BS‐Q), and the life orientation questionnaire (SOC‐29). Statistics based on the IBM SPSS v.25. Results Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) has shown significant differences based on groups in experiencing intimacy, manifesting femininity, body acceptance, and manageability. In particular, manifesting femininity and body acceptance showed a big effect size (0.30 < partial ɳ2 < 0.32). Correlation analysis between the BS‐Q and SOC‐29 subscales and Fisher's r to z transformation determines that the differences between groups were significant in favour of healthy women in two sets of variables: experiencing intimacy/meaningfulness and attitude to food and weight/manageability. Conclusions Breast cancer survivors are at greater risk of developing decreased body acceptance and problems in intimacy, and have less correlation than the healthy control group between manageability and meaningfulness with an appropriate attitude to food and intimate relationship with their partner, respectively. A higher manifestation of femininity in the treated group can be considered a positive but socioculturally conditioned coping strategy.

The Efficacy of Psychological Intervention on Body Image in Breast Cancer Patients and Survivors: A Systematic-Review and Meta-Analysis

“…To sum up, a growing body of literature evidences that the experience of breast cancer seriously infringes patients' and survivors' BI and the general sense of self (Boquiren et al, 2013;Jabłoński et al, 2019) until years after diagnosis and treatments (Falk Dahl et al, 2010). For this reason, several psychological interventions have been proposed that address breast cancer survivors' BI issues and sexual functioning (Park et al, 2015).…”

Consideration of sense of coherence in a structured communication approach with stage IV lung cancer patients and their informal caregivers: a qualitative interview study

“…Meaningfulness refers to the ability of an individual to classify and understand the significance of events and to perceive them as a challenge. Manageability manifests itself in the conviction of the individual about their ability to cope with difficult situations, an active and effective way to influence one's own life situation and draw conclusions from past experience [5]. Therefore, the concept of SOC could be helpful for oncological patients to understand how to deal with the situation [6].…”

A Qualitative Meta-synthesis of the Post-Traumatic Growth Experiences among Female Breast Cancer Patients and Survivors

“…Some patients stated they can express themselves more freely regarding their breasts and the disease, as they thought it was a shame they could not, or did not, prior to their diagnosis. The cancer experiences were seen as an emancipating process for their femininity to come through [77].…”