CÁNCER DE MAMA: MEDIACIÓN DE LA INTELIGENCIA EMOCIONAL EN EL AJUSTE PSICOLÓGICO

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although its prevalence has increased, an improvement in survival rates has also been observed, leading to both physical and psychosocial consequences. Coping with this disease is not only associated with emotional distress but can also generate positive changes that result in personal transformation. In both contexts of psychological adaptation or maladaptation, perceived emotional intelligence has been found to play a key role. This study analyzes resilience, post-traumatic growth, and anxiety in breast cancer survivors compared to disease-free women. It also explores the processes through which the dimensions of perceived emotional intelligence—mindfulness, clarity, and emotional repair—can act as risk and/or protective factors due to their direct and/or mediated effect between the women's clinical situation and resilience, post-traumatic growth, and anxiety. Emotional repair was found to act as a protective factor in all cases, while reduced emotional attention was a risk factor in some cases and a protective factor in others. Considering these findings, psychological interventions should promote adequate levels of emotional attention to prevent the potential risk it may have directly on psychological adjustment or through the negative influence it may have on other dimensions of perceived emotional intelligence.