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Physician trust moderates the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and cancer worry interference among women with Lynch syndrome

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Abstract

This study investigated the extent to which intolerance of uncertainty was associated with cancer worry interference, anxiety and depression among women with Lynch syndrome (LS), and whether having greater trust in one’s physician moderated those relationships. Women with confirmed LS (N = 128) were recruited from a high-risk of cancer registry and completed a one-time self-report questionnaire. Women who reported greater intolerance of uncertainty and more trust in their physician reported less cancer worry interference compared to women who had greater intolerance of uncertainty and less trust in their physician, who reported the highest worry interference, b = −1.39, t(99) = −2.27, p = .03. No moderation effect of trust in physician was found for anxiety or depression. Trust in one’s physician buffered the impact of high intolerance of uncertainty on cancer worry interference, underscoring the need for supportive provider–patient relationships, particularly for LS patients.

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Notes

  1. Models were also examined stratifying by cancer history (N = 70) versus no cancer history (N = 46). In both groups, only intolerance of uncertainty was associated with each of the outcomes (cancer worry interference, anxiety, and depression), and the interaction of intolerance of uncertainty and trust in physician was not significant. However, power to test models with stratification was compromised, given the low sample sizes.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded in part by a New Investigator Award to Dr. Hart from the Canadian Institute of Health Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, M5B2K3, Canada

    Lindsey A. Torbit, Jenna J. Albiani & Tae L. Hart

  2. Sinai Health System & the Zane Cohen Centre for Digestive Diseases, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Murray Street, Box 24-60, Toronto, ON, M5T3L9, Canada

    Melyssa Aronson, Spring Holter, Kara Semotiuk, Zane Cohen & Tae L. Hart

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  1. Lindsey A. Torbit
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  2. Jenna J. Albiani
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Correspondence to Tae L. Hart.

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Lindsey A. Torbit, Jenna J. Albiani, Melyssa Aronson, Spring Holter, Kara Semotiuk, Zane Cohen and Tae L. Hart declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and animal rights and Informed consent

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Torbit, L.A., Albiani, J.J., Aronson, M. et al. Physician trust moderates the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and cancer worry interference among women with Lynch syndrome. J Behav Med 39, 420–428 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-016-9711-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-016-9711-4

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