The myth of a cancer-specific temperament: An analysis of affective temperament in cancer patients
- Autor(en)
- Elisabeth L. Zeilinger, Matthias Knefel, Andreas Erfurth, Denise Andrzejewski, Otto Lesch, Caterina Sturtzel, Matthias Unseld, Simone Lubowitzki, Rupert Bartsch, Thorsten Fuereder, Ulrich Jäger, Barbara Kiesewetter, Maria T. Krauth, Gerald Prager, Markus Raderer, Philipp B. Staber, Peter Valent, Alexander Gaiger
- Abstrakt
Objective: We investigate the prevalence of five affective temperaments (depressive, cyclothymic, hyperthymic, irritable, and anxious) in a large sample of cancer patients and associations of temperament with cancer site as well as the impact of temperament on overall survival of cancer patients. Methods: Data for this prospective cohort study was collected in the outpatient clinic of a large cancer center. We used the Temperament Evaluation in Memphis, Pisa and San Diego – Münster Version (TEMPS-M) and recorded patient data. The sample consisted of 2531 patients with seven different cancer/disease-sites. Kruskal-Wallis tests and pairwise Wilcoxon rank sum test were applied to compare temperament scales across disease groups. For analyzing survival time, we used a Cox regression model and log-rank tests. Results: The five affective temperaments were similarly distributed across all disease groups. We found higher levels of depressive, cyclothymic, and anxious temperament in women and higher levels of hyperthymic and irritable temperament in men. Temperament was mostly not predictive of survival, with only two significant results in the regression models. Here, cyclothymic temperament was predictive of mortality in the full sample and hyperthymic temperament was predictive of the pancreatic cancer subsample. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence to debunk the myth of a cancer-specific temperament. Neither did we find a temperament profile that was different from studies with general population samples, nor were there any disease-specific profiles differentiating various types of cancer.
- Organisation(en)
- Institut für Klinische und Gesundheitspsychologie
- Externe Organisation(en)
- Medizinische Universität Wien
- Journal
- Journal of Psychosomatic Research
- Band
- 189
- ISSN
- 0022-3999
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2024.112015
- Publikationsdatum
- 02-2025
- Peer-reviewed
- Ja
- ÖFOS 2012
- 501010 Klinische Psychologie, 302055 Onkologie
- Schlagwörter
- ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
- Psychiatry and Mental health, Clinical Psychology
- Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 3 – Gesundheit und Wohlergehen
- Link zum Portal
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/d8c3182d-dc6f-4957-8a65-e223f52c0960