Racial Differences in Reported Levels of Distress and Physical Symptoms in a Sample of Psychooncology Patients

• Published in: Psycho-oncology (Chichester, England) Vol. 21; p. 76
• Main Author: Lusk, E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.02.2012
• Subjects: African Americans; Cancer; Minority & ethnic groups; Oncology; Psychology; White people
• ISSN: 1057-9249; 1099-1611

Cancer shows no discrimination and effects people of all races and backgrounds, but in psycho-oncology literature, minority groups remain an understudied group. Some research suggests that African Americans report overall lower levels of distress when compared to the majority culture and tend to experience their psychological distress more somatically, with higher reports of physical symptoms. It is important to explore whether these differences often seen in more general mental health settings also occur in a cancer population seeking psycho-oncology services. Participants were a convenient sample of 367 African American and Caucasian patients referred to psycho-oncology services. Participants completed the Distress Thermometer, SF-12 and the HADS Depression and Anxiety Scale at their first visit. Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVAs were conducted to determine mean scores for the measures that were compared between racial groups. The majority of patients (84.47%) were Caucasian and 15.53% were African American. No levels of distress mean differences were observed with regard to the Distress Thermometer (... = 0.10), the HADS Depression (... = 0.16) or Anxiety (... = 0.23) or the mental component subscale of the SF-12 (... = 0.26). There were statistically significant mean differences in report of physical symptoms with regard to Distress Thermometer number of physical problems reported (... = 0.02) and the SF-12 physical component subscale (... = 0.00). African American and Caucasian patients utilizing psycho-oncology services report similar levels of distress, suggesting that psycho-oncology patients differ clients in a general mental health settings. Consistent with previous research, African Americans and Caucasian patients do differ in experience of physical symptoms, with African Americans reporting more physical problems. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)