Emotional, Biological, and Cognitive Impact of a Brief Expressive Writing Intervention for African American Women at Familial Breast Cancer Risk
Abstract
Women at familial breast cancer risk have highly inflated perceptions of their risk of developing the disease, high levels of cancer specific distress, and lower levels of natural killer cell activity (NKCA) than women without familial breast cancer risk. To date, little research has been done on women of African descent with family histories of breast cancer, despite the fact that they may be at particularly high risk for chronic distress due to their fatalistic attitudes towards the disease. The proposed study will examine the impact of an expressive writing intervention on emotional, biological, and cognitive processes among women of African descent at familial breast cancer risk. This intervention has been shown to have positive effects on emotional outcomes (e.g., decreased distress), biological outcomes (e.g., increased NKcA), and cognitive outcomes (e.g., increased working memory) in individuals writing about a variety of life stressors including minor stressors and major trauma. We propose a randomized controlled trial examining the effects of expressive writing intervention on emotional, biological, and cognitive functions in health women of African descent at familial breast cancer risk.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA443205
Entities
People
- Dana H Bovbjerg
- Heiddie Valdimarsdottir
Organizations
- Mount Sinai Hospital