Psychological characteristic of women with fibrocystic changes of the breast

Introduction. In recent years more interest is connected with the role of psychological factors in the etiopathogenesis of fibrocystic changes of the breast (FCC). The presented study was aimed to assess the psychological status of women with FCC. Material and methods. The study has been carried out in 48 healthy, menstruating women (mean age: 44.8±4.0) (control group) and 48 menstruating women with FCC (mean age: 45.7±3.9) (study group). In order to evaluate the psychological status of women the following psychological tests were carried out: 1. Spielberg’s test was applied to assess the level of anxiety: 2. CISS questionnaire according to Spielberg modified by Wrześniewski was applied to assess the scale of stress. This questionnaire contains 48 score item points (task oriented coping – 16; emotion oriented coping – 16 and avoidance oriented coping – 16). Conclusions.
1. The psychological study of women with FCC reveals a higher level of anxiety, in comparison to, healthy ones.
2. The test concerning avoidance of stress showed an essential difference between the two groups. In the style of coping with stress, regarding stress avoidance these women demonstrated higher sensitivity and increased response (in this case connected with the said disease).
From a practitioner’s point of view the above-mentioned conclusions point out the necessity of drawing special attention to psychophysiological functions when referring to women with the discussed disease, as well as to recommendations of antistress style of life.