Introduction
Emotional disturbances in response to breast pathology (MP) can affect a person's physical health and psychological well-being. Previous research has shown that a large proportion of people with PM experience multiple concurrent psychological symptoms during the care trajectory, such as stress, anxiety, depression and cognitive impairment. The current study expands on existing research and aims to assess psychological resource levels and cognitive impairment by using coping indicators of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory®-2 (MMPI®-2) and the tasks of the Mini-Mental State Examination, 2nd Edition™ (MMSE-2®).
Method
The clinical sample consisted of 12 women with a mean age of 43.75 years (SD = 6.77 years; range: 33-52 years). The normative MMPI-2 (n = 1115) and MMSE-2 (n = 677) samples of the female population of Romania were analyzed for comparison of means.
The psychological instruments used included the MMPI-2 and the extended version of the MMSE-2. Cut-off scores for clinically significant increases were set at different T-score levels according to the MMPI-2 scales analyzed: Demoralization (RCd), Anxiety (A), Ego Strength (Es) and mean scores on clinical scales 1-4 and 6-9. MMSE-2 reported impaired cognitive areas.
Results
MMPI-2 scores showed moderate-intensity psychological symptoms (mean of scales 1-4 and 6-9, T = 67) and moderate-severe unhappiness, demoralization (RCd, T = 69). Mid-level scores on the A (T = 41) and Es (T = 53) scales suggested a favorable prognosis for psychotherapy, with a good adaptive psychological response to the disease condition.
The most commonly impaired cognitive function was attention, followed by short-term memory and impaired verbal learning ability.
Conclusions
The results were consistent with the study purpose. The study provides support for future research on larger PM samples.