Relationship Between Defense Mechanisms and the Quality of Life in Women With Breast Cancer

Abstract

Background: Patients with breast cancer often experience severe psychological distress after awareness of cancer and during the course of treatment, and have lower physical and psychological quality in their life. Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between defense mechanisms in cancer patients with various aspects of their quality of life. Methods:The present study is a correlational study. Participants were 96 women with breast cancer who were referred and hospitalized at Imam Khomeini hospital in Tehran in summer of 2015 and were selected by convenience sampling. They completed defense mechanisms and general quality of life questionnaires. Data were analyzed using canonical correlation model. Results: Two significant canonical functions were identified in data. First canonical function showed that too much use of displacement and regression defense mechanisms are accompanied with low level of quality of life in physical, cognitive and role aspects. Second canonical function showed that too much use of reaction formation and projection defense mechanisms are associated with lower levels of quality of life in cognitive and role aspects. Conclusions: Paying attention to psychological factors and defense mechanisms that are used by cancer patients could help clinical therapists to make very effective mental health interventions.

Defense Mechanism Functioning in Patients With Breast Cancer: Using the Defense Mechanism Rating Scale

“…Psychological distress was also correlated with the number of trips to the emergency department and hospitalization. Talepasand and Mahfar ( 2018 ) found a relationship between DM and quality of life. According to their empirical results, a higher prevalence of displacement, regression, reaction formation, and projection of DM in patients with BC was associated with lower cognitive and role aspects of quality of life.…”

Investigation the structural model of the relationship between cognitive emotion regulation and defensive lifestyles with quality of life mediated by Alexithymia in patients with hypertension

“…What is crucial in evaluating the quality of life is the patient's psychological adaptation to the symptoms of the disease. If the patient uses unsuccessful strategies in reducing stress, his or her physical and mental health and consequently his or her quality of life will decrease (Talepasand and Mahfar, 2018). As a general conclusion, when the processes of recognizing and describing emotions are disrupted for any reason, psychological helplessness closes the ways of logical analysis and thinking and limits the person's cognitive style to objective, pragmatic and realistic thinking.…”

“…Immature and neurotic defenses are maladaptive and inefficient coping styles. Mature defenses are considered as adaptive, normal and efficient coping methods (Talepasand & Mahfar, 2018). Emotion-based defense mechanisms are negatively associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and suppression and denial mechanisms are positively associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure (Ali Akbari Dehkordi, Salehi & Rezaei 2013).…”

Desarrollo de una estrategia holística para la valoración de la calidad de vida en pacientes con cáncer de mama en las distintas etapas de la enfermedad

“…El cáncer es un problema de salud pública a nivel mundial que no sólo pone en peligro la salud física de quien lo padece, sino que también perturba su salud psicológica y social (1) . Entre los diferentes tipos de cáncer, la neoplasia de mama es la más frecuente entre las mujeres (2) .…”