Empirical studies examining the role of emotion regulation as related to breast cancer screening behavior
| Author(s) . | Year . | Operationalization of emotion regulation . | Sample characteristics . | Major findings/conclusion regarding emotion regulation . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caplan et al. | 1996 | Denial: undermining the importance and urgency of the problem; the concept includes lack of concern, feeling that it would go away, misdiagnosing oneself with a less severe disease, and uncertainty about actual symptoms | 367 breast cancer patients (161 Whites, 206 Blacks; 48% between 20 and 49 yr) | Denial causes symptomatic women to delay breast cancer screenings. |
| Chaitchik and Kreitler | 1991 | Repression: a combination of social desirability and anxiety scales; scales not described and no psychometrics given | 466 women (210 nonattenders, 210 self-referred screeners, 46 in experimental/induced sample) | Attenders scored higher on repressiveness than nonattenders. |
| Consedine et al. | 2004 | Repression: the Index of Self-Regulation (Mendolia, 2002) combines the Crowne-Marlowe Social Desirability Scale (α = .73) and the Anxiety subscale of the STPI (α = .75) to generate a continuous measure of repression | 1364 women from six ethnic groups (mean age, 53.9 yr) | Greater repression associated with greater self-reported mammography and breast self-examination even where background characteristics were controlled. |
| Kreitler et al. | 1990 | Repression: a combination of social desirability and anxiety scales; scales not described and no psychometrics given | 420 women (control: mean age, 40.5 yr; experimental: mean age, 40.9 yr; 63–65.7% Israeli, 20.5–22.4% Middle Eastern or North African, rest unknown) | Attenders scored higher on repressiveness than nonattenders. |
| Kreitler et al. | 1994 | Ability to face problems realistically: derived from coding of structured interview and meanings tasks | 619 women from factories, kibbutzim, banks, cities, and university (mean age, 40.67 yr) | Women who screened had more readiness to face problems realistically. |
| Powell | 1994 | Review article | Review article | Denial causes symptomatic women to delay breast cancer screenings. |
| Styra et al. | 1993 | Denial: unpublished problem-solving inventory, structured interview format; no psychometrics | 100 women (mean age, 40.7 yr) | Symptomatic women who did not identify their lump as a concern used denial and avoidance as coping mechanisms. |
| Author(s) . | Year . | Operationalization of emotion regulation . | Sample characteristics . | Major findings/conclusion regarding emotion regulation . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caplan et al. | 1996 | Denial: undermining the importance and urgency of the problem; the concept includes lack of concern, feeling that it would go away, misdiagnosing oneself with a less severe disease, and uncertainty about actual symptoms | 367 breast cancer patients (161 Whites, 206 Blacks; 48% between 20 and 49 yr) | Denial causes symptomatic women to delay breast cancer screenings. |
| Chaitchik and Kreitler | 1991 | Repression: a combination of social desirability and anxiety scales; scales not described and no psychometrics given | 466 women (210 nonattenders, 210 self-referred screeners, 46 in experimental/induced sample) | Attenders scored higher on repressiveness than nonattenders. |
| Consedine et al. | 2004 | Repression: the Index of Self-Regulation (Mendolia, 2002) combines the Crowne-Marlowe Social Desirability Scale (α = .73) and the Anxiety subscale of the STPI (α = .75) to generate a continuous measure of repression | 1364 women from six ethnic groups (mean age, 53.9 yr) | Greater repression associated with greater self-reported mammography and breast self-examination even where background characteristics were controlled. |
| Kreitler et al. | 1990 | Repression: a combination of social desirability and anxiety scales; scales not described and no psychometrics given | 420 women (control: mean age, 40.5 yr; experimental: mean age, 40.9 yr; 63–65.7% Israeli, 20.5–22.4% Middle Eastern or North African, rest unknown) | Attenders scored higher on repressiveness than nonattenders. |
| Kreitler et al. | 1994 | Ability to face problems realistically: derived from coding of structured interview and meanings tasks | 619 women from factories, kibbutzim, banks, cities, and university (mean age, 40.67 yr) | Women who screened had more readiness to face problems realistically. |
| Powell | 1994 | Review article | Review article | Denial causes symptomatic women to delay breast cancer screenings. |
| Styra et al. | 1993 | Denial: unpublished problem-solving inventory, structured interview format; no psychometrics | 100 women (mean age, 40.7 yr) | Symptomatic women who did not identify their lump as a concern used denial and avoidance as coping mechanisms. |