The role of emotion regulation difficulties on anxiety and depressive symptoms among patients with breast cancer

The co-morbid anxiety and depressive symptoms among patients with breast cancer has been linked with adaptation problems and poor quality of life. This study investigated the effect of emotion regulation difficulties on anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with breast cancer. The study was conducted with a cross-sectional correlational design. The study included 140 patients with breast cancer. Data were collected using the Socio-demographic Characteristics Questionnaire, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale Short Form, and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale. Descriptive statistics, and multivariate regression analyses were used. Goals (β = 0. 294, <i>p</i> = 0.026) and strategies (β = 0.223, <i>p</i> = 0.038) were associated with anxiety, explaining 12.6% of the variance for anxiety. Regarding depressive symptoms, impulse (β = 0.250, <i>p</i> = 0.003), strategies (β = 0.231, <i>p</i> = 0.035), and goals (β = 0.222, <i>p</i> = 0.022) were associated with depressive symptoms. The model explained 25.2% of the variance for depressive symptoms. Patients with breast cancer who have difficulty in goal-directed behavior and limited access to emotion regulation strategies when emotionally distressed are associated with a risk of anxiety and depressive symptoms. It is recommended that emotion regulation difficulties of patients with breast cancer should be assessed in terms of anxiety and depression risk. Psychosocial interventions focused on adaptive emotion regulation strategies could be implemented in cancer care.