The Relationship Between Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Marital Intimacy with Quality of Life in Women with Breast Cancer

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Master Student, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Islamic Azad University Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Islamic Azad University Central Tehran Branch, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Aim: The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between cognitive emotion regulation and marital intimacy with the quality of life in women with breast cancer.
 
Methods: This correlational study included female patients with stage 1 and 2 breast cancer who were referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran in 1401 and 1402. A total of 151 women were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using the Garnefski Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (2006), the Barozi Intimacy Needs Questionnaire (1997), and the Sprangers Quality of Life Questionnaire for Breast Cancer Patients (1996). Data analysis was performed using the Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis with SPSS software.
 
Results: The results revealed a significant positive relationship between adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and quality of life, and a significant negative relationship between maladaptive strategies and quality of life (p < 0.05). The components of marital intimacy showed a significant positive relationship with quality of life (p < 0.05). Multiple regression results indicated that cognitive emotion regulation strategies and marital intimacy significantly predicted the quality of life (p < 0.001).
 
Conclusion: The findings suggest that individuals with better emotion regulation strategies experience a higher quality of life. Additionally, increased marital intimacy in rational, sexual, and spiritual dimensions can significantly impact quality of life. Therefore, interventions based on emotion regulation, couple therapy focused on increasing intimacy, and group therapy with peer groups are recommended for managing emotions.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Bagarozzi, D. A. (1997). Marital intimacy needs questionnaire: Preliminary report. American Journal of Family Therapy, 25 (3) , 285-290. [Link]
Besharat, M. A. (2016). Cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire: instruction and scoring. [Link]
Castro, E., Pereira, J. C., & Cardoso, J. S. (2023). Symmetry-based regularization in deep breast cancer screening. Medical Image Analysis, 83, 102690 and Mastery Registries. Annals of surgical oncology, 28(10) , 5535-5543. [Link]
Ding, Z., Song, Q., Chu, J., Zou, T., Zheng, K., Liu, Z., ... & Yi, J. (2023). Application of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire in Chinese Community Elderly. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 829-839. [Link]
Eslamiyan, S., Nouri Ghasemabadi, R., & Hasani, J. (2022). The Mediating Role of Maladaptive Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies in the Relationship between Metacognitive Beliefs and Test Anxiety. Quarterly of Applied Psychology, 16 (4): 111, 132, 2..[ Link]
Fujisato, H., Ito, M., Berking, M., & Horikoshi, M. (2020). The influence of emotion regulation on posttraumatic stress symptoms among Japanese people. Journal of Affective Disorders, 277, 577-583. [Link]
Gan, C., Lv, Y., Zhao, J., Chao, H. H., Li, C. R., Zhang, C., Yu, F., & Cheng, H. (2019). Neural correlates of chemotherapy-induced emotion regulation impairment in breast cancer patients. American journal of cancer research, 9(1) , 171–179. [Link]
Garnefski, N., & Kraaij, V. (2006). Cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire–development of a short 18-item version (CERQ-short). Personality and Individual Differences, 41(6) , 1045-1053. [Link]
Kardan-Souraki, M., Hamzehgardeshi, Z., Asadpour, I., Mohammadpour, R. A., & Khani, S. (2016). A Review of Marital Intimacy-Enhancing Interventions among Married Individuals. Global journal of health science, 8(8) , 53109. [Link]
Kim, J., & Jang, M. (2020). Stress, social support, and sexual adjustment in married female patients with breast cancer in Korea. Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursing, 7(1) , 28-35. [Link]
Kleijburg, A., Braal, C. L., Westenberg, J. D., Jager, A., Koolen, S. L., Mathijssen, R. H., ... & Penton, H. (2023). Health-related quality of life and productivity costs in breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen in the Netherlands. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 158, 114158. [Link]
Misra, S., Stevenson, A., Haroz, E. E., De Menil, V., & Koenen, K. C. (2019). ‘Global mental health’: systematic review of the term and its implicit priorities. BJPsych open, 5(3) , e47. [Link]
Mohammadi, S. Y., & Ahmadi, S. (2018). Effectiveness of progressive relaxation and emotional regulation on quality of life of heart patients. JQUMS, 22(5), 59-69.[Link]
Moladoost, A., Jabalameli, S., Sajjadieh Khajouei, A., & Farzi, S. (2023). Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies on Self-care in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease: Investigating the Mediating Role of Self-compassion. Journal of Isfahan Medical School, 40(696), 957-965. [Link]
Montazeri, A., Harirchi, I., Vahdani, M., Khaleghi, F., Jarvandi, S., Ebrahimi, M., & Haji-Mahmoodi, M. (1999). The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30): translation and validation study of the Iranian version. Supportive Care in Cancer, 7, 400-406. [Link]
Montazeri, A., Harirchi, I., Vahdani, M., Khaleghi, F., Jarvandi, S., Ebrahimi, M., & Haji-Mahmoodi, M. (2000). The EORTC breast cancer-specific quality of life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-BR23): translation and validation study of the Iranian version. Quality of Life Research, 9, 177-184. [Link]
Naddaf, S., & Heidari, A. (2017). The relationship between marital intimacy and quality of life. Indian J Public Health Res Dev, 8(4) , 63. [Link]
Najafi, F., Sahebalzamani, M., & Farahani, H. (2020). The effect of emotional regulation training on the sexual function and sexual satisfaction of women with multiple sclerosis (MS) referring to Iranian MS Research Center. Medical Science Journal of Islamic Azad Univesity-Tehran Medical Branch, 30(1), 92-100.. [Link]
Nikmanesh, Z., Khosravi, M., & HASANZADEH, Z. (2014). Relationship of humor sense with quality of life in cancer patients.[Link]
Oh, Y. K., & Hwang, S. Y. (2018). Impact of uncertainty on the quality of life of young breast cancer patients: focusing on mediating effect of marital intimacy. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing, 48(1) , 50-58. [Link]
Refaee Saeedi ,N., Aghamohammadian Sharbaf ,H., Asghari Ebrahimabad ,MJ., Kareshki ,H. Psychological Consequences of Breast Cancer in Iran: A Meta-Analysis. Iran J Public Health. 2019;48(5):816-824. [Link]
Rezaei, F., & Rezakhani, S. (2019). The role of cognitive emotion regulation strategies and coping styles in prediction of rumination in women (who referred to Health Houses of district 14 in Tehran). [Link]
Rostami, M., Ehteshamzade, P., Asgari, P., & Alavi Fazel, S. K. (2022).
Effectiveness of cognitive hypnotherapy on coping self-efficacy and cognitive emotion regulation components in obese women. Shenakht J Psychol Psychiatry, 9(1), 118-33.[Link]
Safaee, A., & Moghim Dehkordi, B. (2007). Validation study of a quality of life (QOL) questionnaire for use in Iran. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 8(4) , 543-46. [Link]
Saemi H, Basharat M A, AsgharnejadFarid A A. (2019). Predicting marital adjustment based on marital intimacy and deficit emotional regulate. Journal of Psychological Science. 18(78), 635-646. [Link]
Seo, S. J., Nho, J. H., Lee, M., & Park, Y. (2020). Influence of lifestyle, depression, and marital intimacy on quality of life in breast cancer survivors. Korean Journal of Women Health Nursing, 26(1) , 28-36. [Link]
Sprangers, M. A., Groenvold, M., Arraras, J. I., Franklin, J., te Velde, A., Muller, M., ... & Aaronson, N. K. (1996). The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer breast cancer-specific quality-of-life questionnaire module: first results from a three-country field study. Journal of clinical oncology, 14(10) , 2756-2768. [Link]
Sun, F. K., Lu, C. Y., Yao, Y., & Chiang, C. Y. (2023). Social functioning, depression, and quality of life among breast cancer patients: A path analysis. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 62, 102237. [Link]
Wang, Q., & Du, N. (2024). Relationship between kinesiophobia and quality of life among patients with breast cancer–related lymphedema: Chain-mediating effect of self-care and functional exercise compliance. Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing, 11(1), 100346. [Link]
Zadeh, M. R., & Pour, S. B. (2017). The study of type D personality and cognitive strategies of emotion regulation as predictors of happiness and quality of life in women with breast cancer. Archives of Breast Cancer, 64-69. [Link]