A Study of the Relationship between Awareness and Satisfaction of the Basic Psychological Needs of Women Suffering from Breast Cancer

This study aims at investigating the relationship between awareness and satisfaction of basic psychological needs among healthy women and those suffering from breast cancer. The population of the study consisted of the women with cancer who referred to Bu-Ali Hospital in Hamedan and the staff of this hospital.The sample included 200 women (100 patients, 100 healthy women) who were selected through available sampling technique. The data collection instruments included the Awareness Scale (Brown and Ryan), the Basic Needs Satisfaction Scale (Guardia, Deci and Ryan) and the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al.). The statistical test utilized was Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. Our findings indicated that there is no significant relationship between awareness and basic needs satisfaction. It was also found out that awareness of women suffering from breast cancer is not lower than that of the healthy women. The findings further showed that basic needs satisfaction is higher among healthy women and healthy women suffer from less perceived stress than that of the unhealthy women.