Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in Patients with Cancer and the Relation with Traumatic Events, Difficulty in Emotion Regulation, and Social Support

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to investigate the psychological effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in cancer patients and its relationship with traumatic events, difficulty in emotion regulation and social support during the COVID-19 Pandemic Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted with 149 patients diagnosed with cancer. Patients were assessed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PTSDCL), Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale for DSM-5 (DASS-21), Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale (ACE), Stressful Life Events Inquiry List, Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Scale-Short Form (DERS), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Supports(MSPSS). Results: 92 (61.7%) of the 149 participants were female and 118 (79.2%) were married. The median age was 51 years. 66 (%44.3) experienced moderate-to-severe distress on any or more of the DASS-21 scales. High DERS-Goals levels (p<0.001) and SELP scores (p=0.004) predicted high PTSD severity. High DERS-Strategies (p=0.008), DERS-Goals (p=0.007) and ACE (p=0.009) scores predicted high depression severity. High COURSE-Goals scores (p<0.001) and low MSPSS-Family scores (p=0.038) predicted high anxiety. Goals (p<0.001) and DERS-Clarity (p=0.033) scores predicted high stress severity. Conclusion: Childhood adversities, emotion regulation difficulties, and social support especially from the families should be considered for the patients with cancer during the pandemic to prevent them from negative outcomes.

Keywords

• Covıd
• cancer
• trauma

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