title: Perceived stress and sexual orientation among breast cancer survivors.
abstract: Little is known about the cancer survivorship experiences of sexual minority women (SMW). SMW breast cancer survivors are hypothesized to experience more stress compared to heterosexual breast cancer survivors. A convenience sample of 211 breast cancer survivors (68 SMW, 143 heterosexual women) participated in this cross-sectional online investigation of perceived stress. Regression analyses indicated significant differences in reported stress between heterosexual and SMW breast cancer survivors (β= -.15, p = .03). Our findings may reflect unique experiences had by sexual minority breast cancer survivors. Future research should explore the factors that contribute to elevated perceived stress in this group.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Public Health , University of Tennessee , Knoxville , Tennessee , USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Jabson
authors.forename: Deborah J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Bowen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D020010:Heterosexuality / Q000523:psychology; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: breast cancer survivors; perceived stress; sexual orientation