Selective Attention and Fear of Cancer Recurrence in Breast Cancer Survivors

J. A. E. Custers; E. S. Becker; M. F. M. Gielissen; H. W. M. van Laarhoven; M. Rinck; J. B. Prins

doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-014-9632-9

Selective Attention and Fear of Cancer Recurrence in Breast Cancer Survivors

J. A. E. Custers, E. S. Becker, M. F. M. Gielissen, H. W. M. van Laarhoven, M. Rinck, J. B. Prins

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Anxious people show an attentional bias towards threatening information. It was investigated whether an attentional bias exists for cancer-related stimuli in breast cancer survivors and if different levels of fear of cancer recurrence would lead to different patterns of selective attention. Breast cancer survivors with high (n = 35) and low (n = 32) fear of cancer recurrence were compared to 40 healthy female hospital employees. Specificity of attentional biases was investigated using a modified Emotional Stroop Task. Self-report measures were used to assess depression and anxiety, feelings of fatigue, and experienced traumas. Compared to control participants, breast cancer survivors with both high and low levels of fear of cancer recurrence showed increased interference for cancer-related words, but not for other word types. The findings suggest a specific attentional bias for cancer-related words in breast cancer survivors that is independent of level of fear of cancer recurrence

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	66-73
Journal	Annals of Behavioral Medicine
Volume	49
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-014-9632-9
Publication status	Published - 2015

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-014-9632-9

Cite this

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title = "Selective Attention and Fear of Cancer Recurrence in Breast Cancer Survivors",

abstract = "Anxious people show an attentional bias towards threatening information. It was investigated whether an attentional bias exists for cancer-related stimuli in breast cancer survivors and if different levels of fear of cancer recurrence would lead to different patterns of selective attention. Breast cancer survivors with high (n = 35) and low (n = 32) fear of cancer recurrence were compared to 40 healthy female hospital employees. Specificity of attentional biases was investigated using a modified Emotional Stroop Task. Self-report measures were used to assess depression and anxiety, feelings of fatigue, and experienced traumas. Compared to control participants, breast cancer survivors with both high and low levels of fear of cancer recurrence showed increased interference for cancer-related words, but not for other word types. The findings suggest a specific attentional bias for cancer-related words in breast cancer survivors that is independent of level of fear of cancer recurrence",

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AU - Custers, J. A. E.

AU - Becker, E. S.

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AU - Rinck, M.

AU - Prins, J. B.

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