Life Skills Training Effectiveness on Non-Metastatic Breast Cancer Mental Health: A Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND Patients with breast cancer are predisposed to some psychiatric symptoms and mental disorders due to their life styles or disease conditions. These problems cause patients to deal with daily stress, feeling guilty, anxiety, dysphoric mood, and impaired social relations. Such problems would lead to serious mental disorders. OBJECTIVES Therefore, life skills training may help patients to cope better with their condition, and improve their mental health. MATERIALS AND METHOD In an experimental study, 50 patients with breast cancer were selected randomly and assigned to 2 experimental and control groups. The experimental group attended life skills training classes for 10 weeks continuously (each class lasting 2 hours). Participants in both the experimental and control groups completed a GHQ-28 questionnaire form before the commencement of classes, and again after 2 weeks to 2 months of the course completion. T-test was used as the statistical method. RESULTS In life skills training group, depressive and anxiety symptoms, somatization disorders, sleep disorders and disorders of social functioning were significantly decreased (p<0.0001). These changes were not observed in the control group. CONCLUSIONS The results showed that life skills training is an effective method in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, sleep and somatic disorders. Also, it would be useful in reducing problems of social dysfunction.