Psychological distress, African American acculturation and family history of breast cancer: Effects on breast self -examination frequency.
Item
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Title
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Psychological distress, African American acculturation and family history of breast cancer: Effects on breast self -examination frequency.
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Identifier
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AAI9959182
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identifier
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9959182
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Creator
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Guevarra, Josephine S.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Suzanne Ouellette
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Date
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2000
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Social | Psychology, Behavioral | Black Studies | Health Sciences, Public Health | Women's Studies
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Abstract
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Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women. Black women exhibit a lower breast cancer incidence than White women, but their breast cancer mortality is higher. Causes for the racial difference are not known, but the higher breast cancer mortality has been linked to diagnosis at later stages of disease. A possible contributing factor to later stage at breast cancer diagnosis is inappropriate breast cancer screening. Adherence to appropriate breast cancer screening is especially important for women with family histories of breast cancer (FH+) as they are at increased risk for developing breast cancer and have been found to have a higher perception of personal risk for developing the disease and greater psychological distress, both have been linked to inappropriate screening. Evidence from studies with Hispanic women suggests also that level of acculturation plays a role in breast cancer screening. It was hypothesized that psychological factors and acculturation impacts on breast cancer screening. BSE frequency was selected as the breast cancer screening behavior as it is a low-cost behavior that has been found to increase the likelihood of detecting early breast tumors.;The study was done in two parts. The first part compared Black women with a first-degree relative with breast cancer (FH+) to Black women without a first-degree relative with breast cancer (FH-) on measures of perception of risk, psychological distress (general, cancer-specific and BSE-specific) and breast self-examination (BSE) frequency (N = 100). The Groups differed on perception of risk, BSE-specific distress and short-term BSE frequency. BSE-specific distress mediated the relationship between family history of breast cancer and BSE frequency. When the FH+ and FH- Groups were combined, avoidance and intrusive thoughts were found to be related to BSE frequency. The second part of the study examined the effects African American acculturation on psychological distress and BSE frequency among a sub-sample (N = 67). Only the Preference for African American Things and Interracial Attitude sub-scales were related to BSE frequency. These sub-scales were unrelated to general or cancer-specific distress. The utility of African American acculturation in understanding BSE frequency and implications for breast cancer screening interventions are discussed.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
