CAUSAL ATTRIBUTIONS FOR CANCER AND THE US E OF PSYCHOONCOLOGICAL SUPPORT BY BREAST-CANCER PATIENTS

In the Department of Gynaecology of a university hospital, breast canc er patients were offered psychooncological interventions in the form o f psychotherapy and relaxation groups, and data were collected via int erviews and questionnaires. Causal attributions for the aetiology of c ancer were related to participation in psychooncological interventions , and mood states and psychological distress and adjustment to disease were measured. Of the 107 breast cancer patients under investigation 42 made use of the psychooncological interventions. Asked about their disease-related causal attributions through an open-ended interview qu estion, 67 breast cancer patients answered with at least one causal th eory: the most frequent attribution was to individual psychic problems , named by 24 patients. 40 patients did not have theories about the or igin of their cancer. Having no theory was found to be associated with more positive results concerning psychological distress and mood stat es. In contrast, patients who attributed the development of their dise ase to individual psychic problems described their life as being heavi ly burdened, and suffered from more physical complaints. As the only a ttributional theory, the psychogenic concept showed to be closely asso ciated to participation in psychooncological interventions.