The role of appearance investment in the adjustment of women with breast cancer

Abstract

Objective: Appearance investment can be considered an important factor in the explanation of individual differences in adjustment to breast cancer. This study aims to analyze the role of this variable on a set of adjustment outcomes, namely, quality of life (QOL), emotional adjustment (depression and anxiety) and fear of negative evaluations. The differential role of motivational salience facet of appearance investment (MS; the individual's efforts to be or feel attractive), conceptualized as a protective factor, and of self‐evaluative salience facet (SES; the importance an individual places on physical appearance for their definition of self‐worth), conceptualized as a vulnerability factor, is explored.

Methods: This cross‐sectional study included 117 Portuguese breast cancer patients (mean age=52.47; SD=8.81), on average 2.32 months (SD=2.17) post‐diagnosis. Appearance investment was measured by the ASI‐R; QOL by the WHOQOL‐bref; emotional adjustment by the HADS; and fear of negative evaluations by the FNE (Portuguese versions). Several hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted for each outcome, using investment facets as a predictor variable.

Results: Both facets of investment contributed to the explanation of social (p⩽0.001) and psychological (p⩽0.001) QOL and also depression (p⩽0.001), with SES being associated with poorer results and MS with better outcomes. SES also predicted higher levels of fear of negative evaluations (p⩽0.001).

Conclusions: This study provided significant information about the role of appearance investment in the adjustment of breast cancer patients and added empirical support to SES‐MS distinction. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.