The relationship between infertility family stigma, self-stigma and psychological well-being in female first-visit patients at a reproductive medicine center in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Steeped in Chinese culture which considers continuing the family lineage highly important, infertility stigma endorsed by others and oneself can both negatively impact psychological well-being in women with infertility in Taiwan. The aim of the present study was to find out whether family stigma attached to infertility has a direct effect on psychological well-being, or whether it is only when family stigma is internalized into self-stigma that psychological well-being is affected. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: The present study had a cross-sectional design, approved by an institutional review board in Taiwan. 245 female participants with infertility completed measures on infertility stigma, self-esteem, and positive and negative affect. The main question of this study was analyzed by conducting structural equation modeling. RESULTS: The present study found that none of the direct effects of family stigma on self-esteem, negative affect, or positive affect were significant, while the indirect effects of family stigma on the three psychological well-being indexes through the mediator of self-stigma were significant. CONCLUSIONS: Self-stigma fully mediates the effect of family stigma on self-esteem, positive affect, and negative affect in women with infertility. Collectively, stigma endorsed by others does not necessarily lead to negative psychological well-being. The negative influence comes from internalizing public/family stigma into self-stigma.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Goal-Focused Emotion-Regulation Therapy for Young Adult Survivors of Testicular Cancer: Effects on Salivary and Inflammatory Stress Markers.

Despite the substantial adverse psychological impact of testicular cancer, few interventions have sought to improve psychosocial functioning and stress-related biomarkers in young adult survivors. Goal-focused Emotion-regulation Therapy (GET) is designed to improve distress symptoms, emotion regulation, and goal navigation skills, which would be expected to improve regulation of stress-sensitive biomarkers. The aim was to examine the effects of GET versus an active control intervention on salivary stress and circulating inflammatory markers in young adult survivors of testicular cancer. Young adult men with testicular cancer (N = 44) who had undergone chemotherapy within the last 2 years were randomized to GET or individual supportive therapy (ISP) delivered over 8 weeks. Saliva samples were collected for 2 consecutive days at baseline and post-intervention (awakening, 8 hr later, bedtime) to measure diurnal rhythm. Circulating plasma levels of CRP, IL-6, IL-1ra, TNFαRII, and VEGF were measured at baseline and post-intervention. Regression modeling demonstrated a significant group effect on daily output of salivary cortisol (area under the curve) (ß = -57, p < .05), with cortisol output decreasing from baseline to post-intervention for those receiving GET (Cohen's d = 0.45). There were no significant intervention effects in salivary alpha-amylase. Plasma levels of IL-1ra were significantly lower post-intervention in GET compared to ISP; no other significant plasma effects were observed. GET, an intervention designed to promote goal-related and emotion-focused self-regulation, has potential to mitigate stress-related processes and inflammation in this young adult survivor group. More research is needed to determine efficacy.

Emotional approach coping among young adults with cancer: Relationships with psychological distress, posttraumatic growth, and resilience.

OBJECTIVE: Cancer, particularly, during young adulthood, can evoke difficult emotions, interfere with normative developmental activities, and challenge coping responses. Emotion-regulating coping efforts aimed at active emotional processing (EP) and emotional expression (EE) can be beneficial to cancer adjustment and perceptions of positive growth. However, it may be that EP and EE work differently to influence well-being. This study examines relationships of EP and EE with psychological distress, posttraumatic growth (PTG), and resilience. We expect that EP will be positively associated with PTG and resilience, whereas EE will be negatively associated with psychological distress. METHODS: Young adults with cancer (M age  = 34.68, N = 57) completed measures of emotional; approach coping (EP and EE), psychological distress (depressive symptoms, fear of cancer; recurrence [FCR]) and indicators of positive adjustment and growth (resilience and PTG). RESULTS: Greater use of EP was associated with higher resilience (ß = 0.48, p = 0.003) and PTG (ß = 0.27, p = 0.05), whereas greater use of EE was associated with lower resilience (ß = -0.33, p = 0.04). The EE × EP interaction was significant for FCR (ß = 0.29, p = 0.04) such that low EE was associated with lower FCR in those with high EP. Interaction effects were not significant for depressive symptoms, resilience, or PTG. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight differing relationships between EP and EE among young adults with cancer. Interventions aimed at increasing emotion-regulating coping strategies may prove useful in facilitating positive adjustment and growth, strengthening young adults' ability to cope with the diverse effects of disease, treatment, and survivorship.

Sexual well-being and diurnal cortisol after prostate cancer treatment.

Sexual dysfunction and psychological distress are common after prostate cancer. Research has not examined the role of neuroendocrine markers of stress (e.g. cortisol). This study examines whether sexual functioning or sexual bother is associated with diurnal cortisol. Men treated for prostate cancer completed the University of California-Los Angeles Prostate Cancer Index and provided saliva samples four times daily for cortisol assessment. Higher sexual bother, but not sexual functioning, was associated with steeper cortisol slope. Better sexual functioning, and not sexual bother, was significantly associated with the cortisol awakening response. Assessment of stress and stress-reducing interventions might be warranted in sexual rehabilitation after prostate cancer.

Differential psychological effects of cognitive-behavioral stress management among breast cancer patients with high and low initial cancer-specific distress.

OBJECTIVE: Cognitive-behavioral stress management (CBSM) improves adaptation to primary treatment for breast cancer (BCa), evidenced as reductions in distress and increases in positive affect. Because not all BCa patients may need psychosocial intervention, identifying those most likely to benefit is important. A secondary analysis of a previous randomized trial tested whether baseline level of cancer-specific distress moderated CBSM effects on adaptation over 12 months. We hypothesized that patients experiencing the greatest cancer-specific distress in the weeks after surgery would show the greatest CBSM-related effects on distress and affect. METHODS: Stages 0-III BCa patients (N = 240) were enrolled 2-8 weeks after surgery and randomized to either a 10-week group CBSM intervention or a 1-day psychoeducational (PE) control group. They completed the Impact of Event Scale (IES) and Affect Balance Scale (ABS) at study entry, and at 6- and 12- month follow-ups. RESULTS: Latent Growth Curve Modeling across the 12-month interval showed that CBSM interacted with initial cancer-related distress to influence distress and affect. Follow-up analyses showed that those with higher initial distress were significantly improved by CBSM compared to control treatment. No differential improvement in affect or intrusive thoughts occurred among low-distress women. CONCLUSION: CBSM decreased negative affect and intrusive thoughts and increases positive affect among post-surgical BCa patients presenting with elevated cancer-specific distress after surgery, but did not show similar effects in women with low levels of cancer-specific distress. Identifying patients most in need of intervention in the period after surgery may optimize cost-effective cancer care.

Benefit finding and diurnal cortisol after prostate cancer: The mediating role of positive affect.

OBJECTIVE: Benefit finding (BF) has exhibited a salutary effect on psychological adjustment to cancer. However, few studies have examined its relationship with physiology or have examined BF in men with cancer. This study investigated whether BF is associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity (ie, diurnal salivary cortisol) in men treated for prostate cancer. Positive affect (PA) is proposed as a potential pathway linking BF to diurnal salivary cortisol. METHODS: A sample of 66 men treated for localized prostate cancer within the prior 2 years completed questionnaires and collected salivary cortisol 3 times per day over 3 consecutive days. Hierarchical linear modeling was used for estimating the effects of BF and PA on cortisol responses as measured by diurnal slope and area under the curve (AUCg). Confidence intervals for indirect effects were estimated using the Monte Carlo method for mediation testing. RESULTS: BF was significantly associated with diurnal cortisol slope, controlling for body mass index and age (B = -.12, P = .03), such that greater BF was associated with steeper cortisol slope. Analyses revealed that PA mediated the effect of BF on cortisol slope (Monte Carlo estimation 95% CI = -0.087, -0.001); negative affect did not mediate this relationship. BF was not significantly associated with AUCg. CONCLUSIONS: Deriving more benefit from one's experience with prostate cancer is associated with a healthier diurnal cortisol rhythm. Through its potential to enhance PA, the relationship of BF and physiological processes underscores the health relevant value of BF in prostate cancer survivors.