title: Dispositional and Situational Avoidance and Approach as Predictors of Physical Symptom Bother Following Breast Cancer Diagnosis.
abstract: Few studies examine whether dispositional approach and avoidance coping and stressor-specific coping strategies differentially predict physical adjustment to cancer-related stress.
  
  
  
  This study examines dispositional and situational avoidance and approach coping as unique predictors of the bother women experience from physical symptoms after breast cancer treatment, as well as whether situational coping mediates the prediction of bother from physical symptoms by dispositional coping.
  
  
  
  Breast cancer patients (N = 460) diagnosed within the past 3 months completed self-report measures of dispositional coping at study entry and of situational coping and bother from physical symptoms every 6 weeks through 6 months.
  
  
  
  In multilevel structural equation modeling analyses, both dispositional and situational avoidance predict greater symptom bother. Dispositional, but not situational, approach predicts less symptom bother. Supporting mediation models, dispositional avoidance predicts more symptom bother indirectly through greater situational avoidance. Dispositional approach predicts less symptom bother through less situational avoidance.
  
  
  
  Psychosocial interventions to reduce cancer-related avoidance coping are warranted for cancer survivors who are high in dispositional avoidance and/or low in dispositional approach.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Margaret R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Lauren N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Joshua F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wiley
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.|Center for Cancer Prevention and Control Research, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Catherine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Crespi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Krull
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.|Cancer Prevention and Control Program University of Arizona Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Karen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Weihs
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. astanton@ucla.edu.|Center for Cancer Prevention and Control Research, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. astanton@ucla.edu.|Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. astanton@ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Annette L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Stanton
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D063189:Symptom Assessment / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Approach; Avoidance; Breast cancer; Coping; Physical symptoms