Cancer Control Research
5R03CA070878-02
Schwartz, Marc D.
DISTRESS IN WOMEN AT RISK FOR BREAST CANCER
AbstractWomen with a family history of breast cancer are at substantially
increased risk for developing the disease themselves. The most effective
method for decreasing the risk of breast cancer mortality in this
population. is adherence to recommended guidelines for breast cancer
screening. However, a significant percentage of these women do not
adhere to these guidelines. Improving the rate of screening adherence
is a major challenge for breast cancer prevention and control
researchers. To develop effective strategies for increasing adherence,
we must identify the variables that are predictive of it. One such
variable may be psychological distress. Recent, retrospective, studies
have suggested that a negative relationship may exist between
psychological distress and breast cancer screening adherence among high
risk women. However, this relationship has yet to be demonstrated in a
longitudinal study. The present study will be the first to test this
relationship prospectively among a sample of women with a family history
of breast cancer. We will further examine the variables that predict
distress, and the processes linking distress with adherence. We will
recruit 250 women with a family history of breast cancer in one or more
first degree relatives (mother,
daughter, or sister). Participants will be recruited from two sites. We
will accrue an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample. We will
assess psychological distress, adherence to mammography, and adherence
to breast self-examination at baseline and year later. We will assess
hypothesized antecedent and mediating variables at baseline. The results
of this project will be used to develop future interventions. These
interventions will target the individuals most vulnerable to
psychological distress and subsequent non-adherence. In addition, these
interventions will be designed to modify the processes that are found to
predict distress and non-adherence.
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