Abstract
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of personality traits
pessimism and optimism on depression, anxiety and stress in breast cancer
surgical patients. The sample included 58 women in the age range of 40-60 years
(M = 57.80, SD = 11.95) scheduled for breast cancer surgery. Interrupted Time
Series Design was used. The sample was selected through the Convenience
Sampling Technique. The sample was included if they had not other serious
diseases such as hepatitis, diabetes, cardiovascular or were not taking any
antidepressants. The Life Orientation Test-R (Scheier, & Carver, 1985) was used
to measure traits pessimism and optimism, which was translated in Urdu by the
author. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (Talat, 2011) was administered
to measure depression, anxiety and stress in these participants at pre-surgery,
week 2nd and 6th weeks post-surgery. Results reveal that breast cancer surgical
patients having pessimism experience significantly higher levels of depression,
anxiety and stress at pre and at 2 points in time (i-e,2
nd & 6th week) postsurgery than optimistic women (P <.005). The data support hypotheses. The
findings of study have practical implications in providing insight relevant for
development and/or modifying trait optimism to overcome psychological
distress in breast cancer surgical patients.
