Resilience and Defense Mechanisms in Patients with Cancer Outpatient Chemotherapy

• Autor(a) principal: Santos, Júlia Mariá Azambuja
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Lorenzzoni, Ana Maria Vieira, Tigre, Aline, Heldt, Elizeth
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por; eng
• Título da fonte: Revista Brasileira de Cancerologia (Online)
• DOI: 10.32635/2176-9745.RBC.2022v68n1.1557
• Texto Completo: https://rbc.inca.gov.br/index.php/revista/article/view/1557
• topic: resiliência psicológica; neoplasias; tratamento farmacológico; mecanismos de defesa; resilience, psychological; neoplasms; drug therapy; defense mechanisms; resiliencia psicológica; neoplasias; quimioterapia; mecanismos de defensa

Introduction: The ability to cope with adverse situations, defined as resilience, helps patients to overcome difficulties in their treatment. However, there are still few studies assessing resilience in cancer patients undergoing outpatient chemotherapy. Objective: To assess resilience in cancer patients undergoing outpatient chemotherapy and to verify its correlation with defense mechanisms, as well as with symptoms of depression and anxiety. Method: Observational, correlational and prospective study with patients of both sexes, diagnosed with cancer, over 18 years old, literate and beginning treatment with outpatient chemotherapy. The following instruments were applied on the first day of chemotherapy treatment and then again after 30 to 45 days: Resilience Scale, Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40), Beck’s Depression Inventory and Beck’s Anxiety Inventory. Results: A total of 55 participants were included in the study, 32 (58%) of which were female, with an average age and standard deviation (SD) of 54.1 (SD=12.2) years. The most frequent diagnoses were colorectal cancer, 15 (27%) and breast cancer, 12 (22%). There was a significant negative correlation between symptoms of depression or anxiety and resilience levels both in the first (p<0.001) and in the second evaluation (p<0.05). Mature defense mechanisms (mood and rationalization) showed a significant positive correlation with resilience, while immature ones (performance and split) showed a negative correlation. Conclusion: The results confirmed that a greater capacity for resilience correlates with the use of adaptive defense mechanisms and with lower levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety in patients while receiving outpatient chemotherapy.