Effect of the childhood trauma on the adjustment to cancer in the patients with breast cancer.
BACKGROUND
Early identification of patients coping poorly is important for compliance with treatment and control of distress. This study aims to investigate the effect of the childhood trauma experience on the type of reaction and adjustment that the person exhibits to the cancer among the patients with breast cancer.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study enrolled 310 patients with breast cancer. The effect of the childhood trauma and the psychological condition on the adjustment to cancer was investigated by assessing the adjustment to cancer, the experiences of childhood trauma and psychological status of the subjects using mental adjustment to cancer scale (MAC), childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ28), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck anxiety inventory (BAI).


RESULTS
Majority of the subjects (77.4%) showed positive adjustment to cancer. Fighting spirit (63.9%) was the most commonly seen mechanism of adjustment to cancer. Of the subjects, 54.5% suffered at least one of the childhood trauma types. Among the patients, 47.1% had depression and 58.4% had anxiety. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, emotional neglect and depression, respectively, have an effect on both positive and negative adjustment to cancer.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study demonstrated that childhood trauma, especially emotional neglect, affects coping and adjustment among the patients with breast cancer. It is necessary to determine the childhood experiences to ensure the development of psychosocial interventions that will increase the adjustment and quality of life after the diagnosis of the cancer.
Department of Prevantive Oncology, Istanbul University Institute of Oncology, Istanbul, Turkey.
Hulya
H
Guveli
Department of Radiation Oncology, Istanbul University Institute of Oncology, Istanbul, Turkey.
Murat Emin
ME
Guveli
Department of Medical Oncology, Istanbul University Institute of Oncology, Capa, Istanbul, Turkey. fatmasen840@gmail.com.
Fatma
F
Sen
Department of Psychiatry, Istanbul University Istanbul Medicine of Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey.
Serap
S
Oflaz
Department of Radiation Oncology, Istanbul University Institute of Oncology, Istanbul, Turkey.
Necla
N
Gurdal
Department of Radiation Oncology, Istanbul University Institute of Oncology, Istanbul, Turkey.
Makbule
M
Tambas
Department of Radiation Oncology, Istanbul University Institute of Oncology, Istanbul, Turkey.
Seden
S
Kucucuk
Department of Medical Oncology, Istanbul University Institute of Oncology, Capa, Istanbul, Turkey.
Adnan
A
Aydıner
Department of Psychiatry, Istanbul University Istanbul Medicine of Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey.
Mine
M
Ozkan
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Breast cancer; Childhood trauma; Coping; Mental adjustment