Self-Esteem as a Predictor of Mental Adjustment in Patients with Breast Cancer

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 18; no. 23; p. 12588
• Main Authors: Tsai, Pei-Ling, Kuo, Ting-Ting, Ku, Chih-Hung, Liao, Guo-Shiou, Lin, Chi-Kang, Pan, Hsueh-Hsing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 29.11.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Adjustment; Breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms; Cancer therapies; Chemotherapy; Confidence intervals; Coping; Cross-Sectional Studies; Demographics; Female; Health care facilities; Humans; Mental depression; Modelling; Patients; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; Religion; Secondary schools; Self Concept; Self esteem; Statistical analysis; Surveys and Questionnaires; Womens health; Taiwan; self-respect; mental adjustment; self-esteem; breast cancer; psychological adjustment; self-regard
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182312588

This study aimed to explore the relationship between self-esteem and mental adjustment and examine the directional effects in patients with breast cancer using path modeling. This was a cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational study. A total of 128 patients with breast cancer were selected through convenience sampling at a medical center in northern Taiwan. They completed a basic characteristics questionnaire, the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale short form, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale. Descriptive statistics, regression analysis, and path analysis were used to analyze the data. The results showed that higher self-esteem was associated with better mental adjustment (β = 0.9, 95% confidence interval 0.6~1.3, < 0.001). Age, religious beliefs, employment, cancer stage, and symptom distress were correlated with mental adjustment. Path modeling demonstrated that self-esteem, cancer stage, performance status, and symptom distress directly affected mental adjustment in patients with breast cancer. These findings suggest that health professionals should evaluate self-esteem, performance status, and symptom distress in patients with breast cancer immediately upon admission. This can facilitate early implementation of relevant nursing interventions and, consequently, improve self-esteem and symptom distress and increase mental adjustment in these patients.