Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Benefit finding predicts depressive and anxious symptoms in women with breast cancer

  • Published:
Quality of Life Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The aims of this study were to examine the psychometric properties of Chinese version of the Benefit Finding Scale (BFS-C) and to evaluate the effect of benefit finding on depressive and anxious symptoms in Chinese women with breast cancer.

Methods

The English version of the Benefit Finding Scale was translated and back-translated prior to its administration. At the baseline assessment (T1), 658 women with breast cancer completed a demographic form, BFS-C, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD). Then, 4 weeks later (T2), all the participants finished HAD again, and the BFS-C was re-administered to 100 patients who were randomly selected from the total sample.

Results

The BFS-C exhibited moderate internal consistency and test–retest reliability. Five factors were extracted by principal component analysis: personal growth, worldview, family relationship, social relationship, and acceptance, and confirmatory factor analyses supported this five-factor model. Regression analyses showed that more benefit finding at T1 could predict less depressive and anxious symptoms at T2, accounting for 21.1 %  and 15.3 % of variance, respectively. More worldview, family relationship, social relationship, and acceptance at T1 were associated with less depressive symptoms at T2, and more personal growth, worldview, family relationship, and acceptance at T1 were associated with less anxious symptoms at T2.

Conclusions

BFS-C is of good reliability and validity, and appropriate for assessing benefit finding in women with breast cancer. Worldview, family relationship, and acceptance are important contributing factors to depressive and anxious symptoms, which may be beneficial for women with breast cancer.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ferlay, J., Shin, H. R., Bray, F., Forman, D., Mathers, C., & Parkin, D. M. (2010). Estimates of worldwide burden of cancer in 2008: GLOBOCAN 2008. International Journal of Cancer, 127(12), 2893–2917.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Bower, J. E., Meyerowitz, B. E., Bernaards, C. A., Rowland, J. H., Ganz, P. A., & Desmond, K. A. (2005). Perceptions of positive meaning and vulnerability following breast cancer: Predictors and outcomes among long-term breast cancer survivors. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 29(3), 236–245.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Mols, F., Vingerhoets, A. J., Coebergh, J. W. W., & van de Poll-Franse, L. V. (2009). Well-being, posttraumatic growth and benefit finding in long-term breast cancer survivors. Psychology & Health, 24(5), 583–595.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Petrie, K. J., Buick, D. L., Weinman, J., & Booth, R. J. (1999). Positive effects of illness reported by myocardial infarction and breast cancer patients. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 47(6), 537–543.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Sears, S. R., Stanton, A. L., & Danoff-Burg, S. (2003). The yellow brick road and the emerald city: Benefit finding, positive reappraisal coping and posttraumatic growth in women with early-stage breast cancer. Health Psychology, 22(5), 487–497.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Kinsinger, D. P., Penedo, F. J., Antoni, M. H., Dahn, J. R., Lechner, S., & Schneiderman, N. (2006). Psychosocial and sociodemographic correlates of benefit-finding in men treated for localized prostate cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 15(11), 954–961.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Davis, C. G., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Larson, J. (1998). Making sense of loss and benefiting from the experience: Two construals of meaning. Journal Personality and Social Psychology, 75(2), 561–574.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Antoni, M. H., Lehman, J. M., Kilbourn, K. M., Boyers, A. E., Culver, J. L., Alferi, S. M., et al. (2001). Cognitive-behavioral stress management intervention decreases the prevalence of depression and enhances benefit finding among women under treatment for early stage breast cancer. Health Psychology, 20(1), 20–32.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Urcuyo, K. R., Boyers, A. E., Carver, C. S., & Antoni, M. H. (2005). Finding benefit in breast cancer: Relations with personality, coping, and concurrent well-being. Psychology & Health, 20(2), 175–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Tomich, P. L., & Helgeson, V. S. (2004). Is finding something good in the bad always good? Benefit finding among women with breast cancer. Health Psychology, 23(1), 16–23.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Kim, Y., Schulz, R., & Carver, C. S. (2007). Benefit finding in the cancer caregiving experience. Psychosomatic Medicine, 69(3), 283–291.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Weaver, K. E., Llabre, M. M., Lechner, S. C., Penedo, F., & Antoni, M. H. (2008). Comparing unidimensional and multidimensional models of benefit finding in breast and prostate cancer. Quality of Life Research, 17(5), 771–781.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Phipps, S. (2007). Adaptive style in children with cancer: Implications for a positive psychology approach. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 32(9), 1055–1066.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Lechner, S. C., Carver, C. S., Antoni, M. H., Weaver, K. E., & Phillips, K. M. (2006). Curvilinear associations between benefit finding and psychosocial adjustment to breast cancer. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74(5), 828–840.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Carver, C. S., & Antoni, M. H. (2004). Finding benefit in breast cancer during the year after diagnosis predicts better adjustment 5 to 8 years after diagnosis. Health Psychology, 23(6), 595–598.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Zigmond, A. S., & Snaith, R. P. (1983). The hospital anxiety and depression scale. Acta PsychiatticaScandinavica, 67(6), 361–370.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Aylard, P. R., Gooding, J. H., McKenna, P. J., & Snaith, R. P. (1987). A validation study of three anxiety and depression self-assessment scales. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 31(2), 261–268.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Barczak, P., Kane, N., Andrews, S., Congdon, A. M., Clay, J. C., & Betts, T. (1988). Patterns of psychiatric morbidity in a genito-urinary clinic. A validation of the Hospital Anxiety Depression scale (HAD). British Journal of Psychiatry, 152(5), 698–700.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Hamer, D., Sanjeev, D., Butterworth, E., & Barczak, P. (1991). Using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale to screen for psychiatric disorders in people presenting with deliberate self-harm. British Journal of Psychiatry, 158(6), 782–784.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Leung, C. M., Wing, Y. K., Kwong, P. K., & Shum, A. L. K. (1999). Validation of the Chinese-Cantonese version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and comparison with the Hamilton Rating Scale of Depression. Acta PsychiatricaScandinavica, 100(6), 456–461.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Byrne, B. M. (1996). Structural equation modelling with EQS and EQS/Windows. Journal of Royal Statistical Society-Series A Statistics Society, 159(2), 343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Munro, B. H., Page, M. A., & Visintainer, E. B. (1986). Statistical methods for health care research. Philadelphia: Lippincott.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Miles, J., & Shevlin, M. (2003). Applying regression and correlation. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory. New York: McGra.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Briggs, S. R., & Cheek, J. M. (1986). The role of factor analysis in the development and evaluation of personality scales. Journal of Personality, 54(1), 106–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Landis, J. R., & Koch, G. G. (1997). The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics, 33(1), 159–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Reuter, K., Classen, C. C., Roscoe, J. A., Morrow, G. R., Kirshner, J. J., Rosenbluth, R., et al. (2006). Association of coping style, pain, age and depression with fatigue in women with primary breast cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 15, 772–779.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Wang, Y., Yi, J., He, J., Chen, G., Li, L., Yang, Y., & Zhu, X. (2014). Cognitive emotion regulation strategies as predictors of depressive symptoms in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 23(1), 93–99.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Garnefski, N., Legerstee, J., Kraaij, V., Van Den Kommer, T., & Teerds, J. (2002). Cognitive coping strategies and symptoms of depression and anxiety: A comparison between adolescents and adults. Journal of Adolescence, 25, 603–611.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. De Leeuw, J. R. J., De Graeff, A., & Ros, W. J. G. (2000). Negative and positive influences of social support on depression in patients with head and neck cancer: A prospective study. Psycho-Oncology, 9(1), 20–28.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Zhu, X., Auerbach, R. P., Yao, S., Abela, J. R. Z., Xiao, J., & Tong, X. (2007). Psychometric properties of the cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire: Chinese version. Cognition and Emotion, 22, 288–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Xiao, J., Yao, S., Zhu, X., Abela, J. R., Chen, X., Duan, S., & Zhao, S. (2011). A prospective study of cognitive emotion regulation strategies and depressive symptoms in patients with essential hypertension. Clinicaland Experimental Hypertension., 33(1), 63–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The research reported in this article was supported by National Key Technologies R&D program in the 11th 5-year plan from the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (grant number: 2009BAI77B06).

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, People’s Republic of China

    Yuping Wang

  2. Medical Psychological Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

    Yuping Wang, Xiongzhao Zhu, Jinyao Yi, Lingyan Li & Yuling Yang

  3. National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, People’s Republic of China

    Jinyao Yi

  4. Department of Breast Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, People’s Republic of China

    Lili Tang

  5. Hunan Clinic Medical Technology Research Center for Breast Cancer, Changsha, 410008, People’s Republic of China

    Lili Tang

  6. The First Affiliated Hospital, Wenzhou Medical College, Wenzhou, 325000, People’s Republic of China

    Jincai He

  7. Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, People’s Republic of China

    Gannong Chen

Authors
  1. Yuping Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xiongzhao Zhu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jinyao Yi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Lili Tang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jincai He
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Gannong Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Lingyan Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Yuling Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiongzhao Zhu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, Y., Zhu, X., Yi, J. et al. Benefit finding predicts depressive and anxious symptoms in women with breast cancer. Qual Life Res 24, 2681–2688 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-015-1001-z

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-015-1001-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation