Personality Factors Associated With Psychological Distress in Testicular Cancer Survivors |
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| Authors: | Vassiliki Siafaka Thomas N Hyphantis Ioannis Alamanos Georgios Fountzilas Demosthenis Skarlos Demetrios Pectasides |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Psychiatry, Medical School , University of Ioannina , Ioannina , Greece;2. Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Medical School , University of Ioannina , Ioannina , Greece;3. Department of Medical Oncology, “Papageorgiou” Hospital , Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Medicine , Thessaloniki , Greece;4. Second Department of Medical Oncology , “Metropolitan” Hospital , Piraeus , Greece;5. Second Department of Internal Medicine–Propaedeutic, Oncology Section , University General Hospital “Attikon,” , Athens , Greece |
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| Abstract: | The aim of this study was to investigate symptoms of anxiety and depression in testicular cancer survivors (TCSs) and to identify personality traits associated with psychological distress in these patients by means of the MMPI (Hathaway &; McKinley, 1943 Hathaway, S. R. and McKinley, J. C. 1943. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Google Scholar]). A total of 50 TCSs and 50 age-adjusted healthy men participated in the study, and we used the following self-report instruments: Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale (Montgomery &; Asberg, 1979 Montgomery, S. and Åsberg, M. 1979. A new depression scale designed to be sensitive to change. British Journal of Psychiatry, 134: 382–389. Crossref], PubMed], Web of Science ®] , Google Scholar]), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (Hamilton, 1959 Hamilton, M. 1959. The assessment of anxiety states by rating. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 32: 50–55. Crossref], PubMed], Web of Science ®] , Google Scholar], 1969 Hamilton, M. 1969. Diagnosis and rating of anxiety. British Journal of Psychiatry, 3: 76–79. Google Scholar]), Spielberger's State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, 1970 Spielberger, C. D. 1970. “Anxiety as an emotional state”. In Anxiety: Current trends in theory and research, Edited by: Spielberger, C. New York: Academic. Google Scholar], 2005 Spielberger, C. D. 2005. State–Trait Anxiety Inventory for adults, Redwood City, CA: Mind Garden. Google Scholar]), and the MMPI. TCSs displayed higher rates on all psychopathology scales studied compared to controls, but the majority of the patients' scores were within the “normal range,” indicating rather mild psychological distress. TCSs' MMPI profiles showed higher rates on Scales 1, 3, 6, and 9 compared to controls; and within the TCSs sample, symptoms of depression were most closely associated with Scales 3 and 5. Similarly, anxiety symptoms were mainly associated with Scale 3. These findings indicate that TCSs present mild symptoms of psychological distress, mainly anxiety and depressive symptoms, suggesting that careful assessment and consultation in TC patients is essential to help them deal with distress after treatment and to minimize possible risk factors. |
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