The role of mindfulness and emotional schemas in predicting anxiety in patients with cancer: A cross-sectional study

Diagnosing cancer associates with a high rate of anxiety in these patients. In recent years, mindfulness and emotional schemas have been increasingly considered in order to reduce anxiety. However, no study has been conducted on this regard. This study was conducted to investigate the role of mindfulness and emotional schemas in predicting anxiety in patients with cancer.

In a cross-sectional study in 2019, 119 patients with the diagnosis of non-metastatic cancer were estimated based on Morgan table among the patients referred to the chemotherapy centers in Shiraz, Iran, and were selected by purposive sampling. Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and Leahy Emotional Schema Scale (LESS) were completed by participants.Data were analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient, multi-step regression, and hierarchical analysis by SPSS software.

The two dimensions of mindfulness, including acting with awareness (β = -0.27) and non-reactivity (β = -0.20), negatively were predictors of anxiety (P < 0.001). Besides, the two dimensions of emotional schemas, including controllability (β = -0.30) and blame (β = -0.19), negatively predicted anxiety (P < 0.001). In addition, demographic variables, neither alone nor as modulating variables, had a significant effect on the role of mindfulness and emotional schemas in predicting anxiety (P > 0.05).

Identifying the components of mindfulness and emotional schemas and understanding their role in the mechanism of triggering anxiety system in patients with cancer can be useful in line with the planning of psychological interventions and improving mental health in these patients.