• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: Self‐compassion moderates the perceived stress and self‐care behaviors link in women with breast cancer
  • Contributor: Abdollahi, Abbas; Taheri, Azadeh; Allen, Kelly A.
  • imprint: Wiley, 2020
  • Published in: Psycho-Oncology
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.1002/pon.5369
  • ISSN: 1057-9249; 1099-1611
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: <jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Objective</jats:title><jats:p>Women with breast cancer are exposed to various stressors, and self‐care behaviors play an important role in their recovery. However, very few studies have investigated self‐care behaviors specifically for women with breast cancer. The current study examined the relationship between perceived stress and self‐care behaviors, and explored whether self‐compassion moderated this relationship.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>A sample of 210 women with breast cancer aged 27 to 60 years old from three hospitals in Tehran, Iran completed online self‐report questionnaires of self‐care behaviors, self‐compassion, and perceived stress.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>Data analyses with structural equation modeling showed that perceived stress (<jats:italic>β</jats:italic> = −.37, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> &lt; .01) and self‐compassion (<jats:italic>β</jats:italic> = .38, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> &lt; .01) were significant predictors of self‐care behaviors. The interaction‐moderation analysis showed that self‐compassion acted as a moderator between perceived stress and self‐care behaviors.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p>The findings enhance our understanding about the protective role of self‐compassion in the relationship between perceived stress and self‐care behaviors in women with breast cancer.</jats:p></jats:sec>