Experiencing anxiety in breast cancer survival: Does perceived emotional intelligence matter?

BACKGROUND: The specialized literature shows that breast cancer (BC) survivors have a certain vulnerability to express anxiety about the changes that the disease entails in their lives. Breast cancer is a specific adverse circumstance, but women who have not experienced this disease may also be exposed to other anxiety-provoking life crises. In both cases, perceived emotional intelligence (PEI)-consisting of emotional attention (EA), emotional clarity (EC), and emotional repair (ER)-seems to impact on such emotional distress. OBJECTIVE: To identify the mechanism through which PEI may mediate the relationship between BC survivorship, compared to a controlled group, and anxiety. METHODS: 636 women were divided into two groups: 56 BC survivors and 580 healthy controls. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Trait Meta-Mood Scale were administered. RESULTS: BC survivors differed from the control group in showing lower levels of EA and higher levels of ER. The global mediation model showed an explanatory capacity of 27% on anxiety (p = 0.000). Four significant indirect effects were obtained: two acted as risk pathways and the other two as protective pathways. The strongest effect indicated an increase in anxiety in BC survivors due to the mediated effect of low EA and EC. CONCLUSIONS: Knowing the impact of PEI on anxiety on disease survival could be the empirical basis for developing interventions to improve psychological adjustment at the end of treatments.

Outcome of Direct Pulp Capping in Teeth Diagnosed as Irreversible Pulpitis: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: This review and meta-analysis investigates the outcome of direct pulp capping in teeth diagnosed as irreversible pulpitis. Material and Methods: This systematic review includes experimental and descriptive clinical studies according to the PRISMA criteria, using PubMed and Scopus as database. We have included studies that performed direct pulp capping on human permanent teeth previously diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis and that carried out a subsequent follow-up. The outcome of interest was the clinical success of direct pulp capping. Results: A total of four studies met the inclusion criteria for this review, however only three of these could be included in the meta-analysis. These three studies represent a total sample of 62 teeth with irreversible pulpitis treated with direct pulp capping that showed an overall success rate of 0.953 (CI=0.900-1.005; p<0.001; I²=0). Additionally, the success rates of vital pulp therapies were compared, all of them being greater than 75%; and the success rates of the materials used were analyzed, giving values above 80% in all cases. The risk of bias of the included articles was established using the ROBINS-I tool, showing that two of the articles had a moderate risk of bias and the remaining two had a very high risk of bias. Conclusions: Based on the results of this review, direct pulp capping should be clinically included as a successful technique for the treatment of irreversible pulpitis. However, a larger number of studies with more rigorous methodologies are necessary to confirm the efficacy of this technique. Key words:Irreversible pulpitis, direct pulp capping (DPC), vital pulp therapy (VPT), indirect pulp capping (IPC), partial pulpotomy, total pulpotomy.

Idiosyncratic Profile of Perceived Emotional Intelligence and Post-Traumatic Growth in Breast Cancer Survivors: Findings of a Multiple Mediation Model.

Psycho-oncology research suggests that positive personal changes can occur after experiencing breast cancer. These changes can be understood as post-traumatic growth (PTG) and seem to be determined by emotional self-efficacy perception. This study aims to investigate the existence of different profiles of PTG and perceived emotional intelligence (PEI) among breast cancer survivors (BCSs) and healthy controls. Moreover, it aims to study the mechanisms through which PEI may mediate the relationship between disease survival and PTG. The total sample was 636 women divided into two groups: 56 BCS and 580 healthy controls who completed TMMS-24 and PTGI. The results displayed that BCSs apparently show a different profile of PTG and PEI compared to healthy women. The mediation analyses showed that survivorship explained 1.9% of PTG, increasing to 26.5% by the effect of PEI. An indirect effect showed that cancer survival predicts reduced levels of emotional attention, decreasing PTG. However, the most statistical indirect effect evidenced that BCSs regulate their emotions appropriately, having a powerful effect on PTG and counteracting the negative effects of poor emotional attention. Knowing the implications of PEI on PTG could improve follow-up from the time of diagnosis and supporting the patient to cope with the sequelae of the disease.

The Key Role of Emotional Repair and Emotional Clarity on Depression among Breast Cancer Survivors.

Breast cancer is the malignancy with the highest incidence in women worldwide. The empirical evidence is inconsistent with the prevalence of depression among breast cancer survivors (BCS), pointing to emotional competencies as protective factors against affective disorders. However, the mechanisms through which these competencies favor a more adaptive emotional state are unknown. Therefore, this study aims to explore the relationship between the experience of having survived the disease and depression levels in a group of BCS, and the mediating role of Perceived Emotional Intelligence (PEI) in this relation. This was a cross-sectional study with 237 women divided into two groups: 56 BCS and 181 healthy controls who completed the Trait Meta-Mood Scale 24 (TMMS-24) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results showed that Survivorship and PEI explained and predicted 37.8% of the variance of depression, corresponding the 11.7% to the direct and/or the indirect effect of the PEI dimensions (Emotional Attention, Emotional Clarity, and Emotional Repair). In conclusion, interventions aimed at promoting an adequate PEI in this population-and in the Psycho-oncology field, in general-with a particular focus on the development of Emotional Clarity and Repair need to be implemented. Limitations and future research lines are discussed.

Enhancing Self-Esteem and Body Image of Breast Cancer Women through Interventions: A Systematic Review.

Breast Cancer (BC) is the most common neoplasm in women worldwide, considered a global public health problem. Among BC women, some of the most common psychological symptoms in the adaptation to the disease are reduction in self-esteem and distorted body image (BI). Although there are numerous studies with the goal of promoting different psychological variables, BI and self-esteem are often separately observed despite their relationship and their importance in the process of the illness. Moreover, there have been no reviews that have synthesized the findings related to interventions aimed at enhancing both self-esteem and BI in BC women. Therefore, the objective of this review was to identify and examine the implemented interventions aimed at boosting both variables in this population. For this purpose, a systematic review was implemented following the PRISMA statement. A thorough search was performed on the following databases: Web of Science, PubMed, PsychInfo, PsychArticles, and Scopus. Among 287 records, only eight articles met the eligibility criteria. Interventions were grouped into three types according to their characteristics: Group therapies, Physical activity therapies, and Cosmetic and beauty treatments. The levels of effectiveness of the different interventions varied between them, and within each, in their impact on self-esteem and BI. More interventions focused on developing BI and self-esteem in this population are needed due to their ability to predict psychological functioning and quality of life of women with breast cancer.

Breast Cancer and Resilience: The Controversial Role of Perceived Emotional Intelligence.

Cancer is a chronic disease that causes the most deaths in the world, being a public health problem nowadays. Even though breast cancer affects the daily lives of patients, many women become resilient after the disease, decreasing the impact of the diagnosis. Based on a positive psychology approach, the concept of co-vitality arises understood as a set of socio-emotional competencies that enhance psychological adaptation. In this sense, emotional intelligence is one of the main protective factors associated with resilience. However, it is not always as beneficial as it seems, and can lead to collateral effects on psychological adjustment. Given this controversy, this study aims to find the specific processes through which the dimensions of Perceived Emotional Intelligence (PEI) (Emotional Attention, Emotional Clarity, and Mood Repair) can act as a risk or protective factor in the development of resilience. The total sample was 167 women (Age: M = 43.26; SD = 12.43), 46.7% were breast cancer survivors, and 53.3% were healthy controls. The selection of women with breast cancer carries out randomly, recruited through the Oncology Units. The sample completed measures of resilience and PEI, through Resilience Scale (Wagnild and Young, 1993) and TMMS-24 (Salovey et al., 1995). The results showed that breast cancer survivors showed higher age and greater levels of resilience and mood repair than healthy women. The mediation analysis revealed that breast cancer survival and PEI predicted 28% of the variance of resilience. The direct effects showed that emotional clarity and mood repair increased resilience levels. Although breast cancer did not predict resilience directly, it does through mood repair by an indirect process. Besides, the analysis showed that emotional attention played a role in vulnerability, decreasing mood repair, and resilience. These research support theories that point to a possible dark side of PEI, thus, a great level of emotional attention makes dark the positive effect of mood repair and personal growth if a clear perception of emotions does not complement it. These results provide empirical support concerning the need to work complementary each dimension of PEI to avoid unwanted effects on intrapersonal adjustment.