The Relationship between D Type Personality and Self-Compassion with Health Behaviors in Women with Breast Cancer: Moderating Role of Perceived Stress

Cancer remains one of the most important illnesses of the present century and is the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular disease despite significant advances in medical science. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between D type personality and self-compassion with health behaviors in women with breast cancer taking into account the moderating role of perceived stress. The study population consisted of all women with breast cancer who referred to Imam Hossein Hospital. The research sample size consisted of 70 patients who were selected using convenience sampling method. The research tools were Denollet D type personality questionnaire, Neff self-compassion questionnaire, Logas health status questionnaire and Cohen et al perceived stress questionnaire. Data were analyzed using statistical methods of correlation between variables, or structural correlation in structural equation modeling. Data were analyzed using Amos software. The results of the study show that the proposed model has a suitable fit (RMSEA=0/05), thus there is a significant correlation between self-compassion, D type personality and perceived stress with the health behaviors of women with breast cancer referring to medical hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences (a=0.01). The regression coefficient between self-compassion and health behaviors with the highest correlation was positive. Also, the relationship of perceived stress with positive health behaviors was positive. While personality D showed a negative relationship with health care behaviors. The results of this study showed that D type personality, self-efficacy and perceived stress have a significant role in predicting health behaviors. By focusing on these structures, we can achieve more stable and better therapeutic results in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer patients.