Self-Presentational Concerns In Breast Cancer Survivors: Physical Activity and Efficacy Influences
With improving breast cancer survival rates, more women are dealing with the consequences of diagnosis and treatment. One major challenge breast cancer survivors face is a decreased body image. Despite growing literature to suggest that physical activity positively influences self-perceptions of body image, breast cancer survivors may be relatively inactive (Irwin, 2003). The present study examined the effect of a physical activity intervention on waist circumference (WC), walking self-efficacy (WSE), appearance-self efficacy (AE), and social physique anxiety (SPA) in women treated for breast cancer. Women with stage I-III breast cancer (N=104) were recruited within 6-12 weeks of surgery and randomized to either an intervention group, including a comprehensive tailored exercise program, or to a usual care control group. Intervention participants began a center-based exercise program gradually shifting to the home at 6 months. Usual care participants received patient education. Participants were 53.7 years of age and 43%/28% overweight/obese. Repeated measures ANCOVA revealed that intervention participants had significantly decreased SPA and increased AE and WSE compared to controls at 6-months (p<0.05). Intervention participants reported significantly higher WSE and AE at 9-months as well, while no significant difference between groups in SPA was found. Waist circumference decreased in both groups, but no significance differences were identified. Pearson correlations were estimated for assessing association of self-efficacy measures and waist circumference with SPA. Self-efficacy measures were significantly negatively correlated with social physique anxiety at the 6 and 9-month time points. Waist circumference was significantly negatively correlated with the two self-efficacy measures and positively correlated with SPA. Longitudinal regression analysis revealed that appearance self-efficacy was a significant predictor of social physique anxiety in this sample. Appearance self-efficacy had a β = -0.142 in the model. In other words, for every unit increase in appearance self-efficacy score, social physique anxiety decreased by 0.142 units. These data have meaningful implications for the integration of physical activity into treatment regimens and suggest that physical activity participation makes a difference in self presentational concerns among breast cancer survivors.
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