Social constraints and distress among women at familial risk for breast cancer

Abstract

Background: Despite literature finding support for the social cognitive processing model, which suggests that social constraints are related to distress, few studies have examined possible mediators of this effect; none have examined this relation among women with family histories of breast cancer (FH+). Purpose: This study was designed to examine possible effects of social constraints on psychological distress among FH+ women. Methods: Sixty FH+ women (M age = 39.2 years) completed self-report measures of social constraints, avoidance, and general and cancer-specific distress. Results: Multiple regression analyses revealed that social constraints were significantly related to both cancer-specific and general distress and that avoidance partially mediated the relation between social constraints and both types of distress. Conclusions: Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.