Risk factors for psychological morbidity in women attending a one-stop diagnostic clinic with suspected breast disease

The present study was designed to identify risk factors for psychological m orbidity in women attending a one-stop diagnostic clinic with suspected bre ast disease. A cohort of 158 women were recruited and were asked to complet e scales measuring psychological morbidity and psychosocial factors in the period immediately before their appointment and to repeat the assessments o f psychological morbidity on the day of the appointment. Relevant clinical and demographic data were also collated. Within the cohort 1.4% of responde nts received a diagnosis of malignant disease. Psychological morbidity, bot h prior to and during the diagnostic appointment was strongly predicted by psychosocial factors (i.e., acceptance-resignation coping, personal self es teem and discrepancies in social support), accounting for 54% and 63% of th e variance at pre-appointment and appointment day phases respectively. Othe r measured variables were found not to be correlated with and/or to account for a significant proportion of the variance in the measures of morbidity. These results suggest that these psychosocial variables should be targeted in interventions designed to reduce psychological morbidity in this patien t group.