The "ick" Factor Matters: Disgust Prospectively Predicts Avoidance in Chemotherapy Patients
BackgroundChemotherapy can be physically and psychologically demanding. Avoidance and withdrawal are common among patients coping with these demands.PurposeThis report compares established emotional predictors of avoidance during chemotherapy (embarrassment; distress) with an emotion (disgust) that has been unstudied in this context.MethodsThis report outlines secondary analyses of an RCT where 68 cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy were randomized to mindfulness or relaxation interventions. Self reported baseline disgust (DS R) embarrassment (SES SF) and distress (Distress Thermometer) were used to prospectively predict multiple classes of avoidance post intervention and at 3 months follow up. Measures assessed social avoidance, cognitive and emotional avoidance (IES Avoidance) as well as information seeking and treatment adherence (General Adherence Scale).ResultsRepeated measures ANOVAs evaluated possible longitudinal changes in disgust and forward entry regression models contrasted the ability of the affective variables to predict avoidance. Although disgust did not change over time or vary between groups, greater disgust predicted greater social, cognitive, and emotional avoidance, as well as greater information seeking. Social avoidance was predicted by trait embarrassment and distress predicted non adherence.ConclusionsThis report represents the first investigation of disgust's ability to prospectively predict avoidance in people undergoing chemotherapy. Compared to embarrassment and distress, disgust was a more consistent predictor across avoidance domains and its predictive ability was evident across a longer period of time. Findings highlight disgust's role as an indicator of likely avoidance in this health context. Early identification of cancer patients at risk of deleterious avoidance may enable timely interventions and has important clinical implications (ACTRN12613000238774)
Annals of behavioral medicine a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine