Exploring the current status of barriers to cancer-related fatigue management in Chinese patients with breast cancer and its relationship with self-disclosure and adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies: a cross-sectional study from the perspective of emotion self-regulation theory.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate self-reported barriers to fatigue management among patients with breast cancer in China and explore the associations among barriers to fatigue management, self-disclosure, and adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted from July to December 2024 among 224 patients with breast cancer at Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital in Yantai, Shandong Province, China. Participants voluntarily completed surveys using a demographic questionnaire, the Revised Piper Fatigue Scale, the Barriers to Fatigue Management Questionnaire, the Distress Disclosure Index, and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 24.0 software.

RESULTS

Patients with breast cancer scored 73.24 ± 21.20 on cancer-related barriers to fatigue management and 35.94 ± 8.75 on self-disclosure. Adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies scored 66.85 ± 11.79. Barriers to fatigue management were negatively correlated with both self-disclosure (r = - 0.691, p < 0.001) and adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (r = - 0.696, p < 0.001). Self-disclosure was positively correlated with adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (r = 0.658, p < 0.001). Self-disclosure was significantly and directly associated with barriers to fatigue management (β = - 0.338, p = 0.009). The indirect pathway through adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (β = - 0.380, p < 0.001) accounted for 52.93% of the total association between self-disclosure and barriers to fatigue management.

CONCLUSION

Both self-disclosure and adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies were negatively correlated with barriers to fatigue management. Self-disclosure and adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies can be predictors of barriers to fatigue management. Adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies function as a partial mediator, substantially accounting for the association between self-disclosure and barriers to fatigue management.