title: Is the link between posttraumatic growth and anxious symptoms mediated by marital intimacy in breast cancer patients?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to determine whether marital intimacy mediates the association between posttraumatic growth (PTG) and anxious symptoms in women who had recently completed breast cancer treatments and breast cancer survivors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-eight patients who had completed their treatment six months prior to the study and 46 disease-free survivors who had completed their treatments at least one year prior to the study completed the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, the Personal Assessment of Intimacy Scale, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Recently off-treatment patients reported higher levels of intimacy than survivors did. Path analyses showed that higher levels of the Appreciation of Life dimension of PTG were associated with less anxious symptoms through higher levels of marital intimacy. The type of group did not moderate these associations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Regardless of the disease phase, the experience of positive changes after breast cancer in terms of an enhanced appreciation of life seems to be associated with an increased perception of intimacy in the context of a dyadic relationship, which, in turn, is associated with less anxiety.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Coimbra, Rua do Colégio Novo, Apartado 6153, 3001-802 Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Canavarro
authors.affiliation: Portuguese Cancer League, Rua Dr. António José de Almeida, nº 329 - 2º sala 56, 3000-045 Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sónia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Coimbra, Rua do Colégio Novo, Apartado 6153, 3001-802 Coimbra, Portugal. Electronic address: hmoreira@fpce.uc.pt.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moreira
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008016:Life Change Events; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011174:Portugal; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D017741:Survivors
keywords: Anxious symptoms; Breast cancer; Breast cancer survivors; Intimacy; Off-treatment; Posttraumatic growth