Investigation of factors affecting the development of post-traumatic growth in breast cancer patients

Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women. It is a traumatic disease that threatens the life of individuals and requires a long-term struggle. Recent research has focused on the possible positive consequences of breast cancer rather than examining the negative consequences of cancer. At this point, the concept of 'Posttraumatic Growth (PTG)' emerges. PTG is characterized as 'positive psychological change experienced by the individuals as a result of a struggle with highly challenging life conditions such as breast cancer'. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between sociodemographic and disease-related variables, level of post-traumatic stress disorder, disruption of core beliefs, gratitude and posttraumatic growth in breast cancer patients. Within the context of the research, 81 patients who received breast cancer treatment with purposive sampling method were reached. Demographic Information Form, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), The Core Beliefs Inventory (CBI), Appreciation Scale (AS), Post Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL-5), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Basic Beliefs Inventory (TIE), Appreciation Scale (TEO), and Post Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTSB), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) were applied to participants. As a result of correlation analysis, it was found that as the disruption level of core beliefs and post-traumatic stress levels increased, post-traumatic growth level too increased. It was also observed that people who are 18-35 years old had higher posttraumatic growth levels than who are 46-55 years old. At the last stage of the hierarchical regression analysis, it was found that disruption level on the core beliefs and level of the gratitude had a predictive effect on post-traumatic growth. The current research is thought to be an important step towards more effective use of posttraumatic growth in cancer treatment and preventive studies.