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Predictors of psychological distress among individuals with a strong family history of malignant melanoma

dc.contributor.author Kasparian, Nadine en_US
dc.contributor.author Meiser, Bettina en_US
dc.contributor.author Butow, P en_US
dc.contributor.author Simpson, John en_US
dc.contributor.author Mann, G en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2021-11-25T12:58:01Z
dc.date.available 2021-11-25T12:58:01Z
dc.date.issued 2008 en_US
dc.description.abstract Despite rapid advancements in molecular genetics research, little is known about the psychological experiences of individuals with a family history of melanoma. The present study aimed to identify factors contributing to psychological distress among affected and unaffected individuals with a strong family history of melanoma. A total of 121 adults who had recently been informed of the identification of a family-specific mutation in the CDKN2A melanoma susceptibility gene, completed a self-report questionnaire assessing cancer-specific and generalized distress, and a variety of potential predictors. Having a personal history of melanoma (OR = 3.37, p = 0.033), perceiving greater family implications of melanoma (OR = 2.52, p < 0.0001), and the tendency to monitor for threatening information (OR = 3.12, p = 0.008) were associated with melanoma-specific distress. Being childless (beta = 2.09, p = 0.007), perceiving sun exposure as an important cause of melanoma (beta = 1.15, p = 0.015), and perceiving greater family implications of melanoma (beta = 1.02, p = 0.002) were associated with greater generalized anxiety, while monitoring moderated the relationship between endorsement of a genetic model of melanoma and generalized anxiety (p = 0.005). As in other common familial cancers, distress was relatively uncommon in this familial melanoma cohort, even after notification of the presence of a family mutation. Participants do not contemplate their melanoma risk in isolation, but evaluate their risk vis-a-vis the experiences of their relatives. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 0009-9163 en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/38797
dc.language English
dc.language.iso EN en_US
dc.rights CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 en_US
dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/ en_US
dc.source Legacy MARC en_US
dc.title Predictors of psychological distress among individuals with a strong family history of malignant melanoma en_US
dc.type Journal Article en
dcterms.accessRights metadata only access
dspace.entity.type Publication en_US
unsw.accessRights.uri http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_14cb
unsw.identifier.doiPublisher http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-0004.2007.00949.x en_US
unsw.relation.faculty Medicine & Health
unsw.relation.faculty Engineering
unsw.relation.ispartofissue 2 en_US
unsw.relation.ispartofjournal Clinical Genetics en_US
unsw.relation.ispartofpagefrompageto 121-131 en_US
unsw.relation.ispartofvolume 73 en_US
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation Kasparian, Nadine, Prince of Wales Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW en_US
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation Meiser, Bettina, Prince of Wales Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW en_US
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation Butow, P en_US
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation Simpson, John, Computer Science & Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW en_US
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation Mann, G en_US
unsw.relation.school Clinical School Prince of Wales Hospital *
unsw.relation.school School of Computer Science and Engineering *
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