Going beyond social support: Fear of receiving compassion from others predicts depression symptoms in breast cancer patients

ABSTRACTBackground: Recent studies have highlighted the importance of being able to receive compassion and affiliative signals from others. The main aim of the present study was to explore whether social support and fear of receiving compassion from others are predictors of depression symptoms in a sample of breast cancer patients. Methods: The sample included 86 female patients with non-metastatic breast cancer. Participants were recruited at a Radiotherapy Service in central Portugal and completed validated self-report instruments. Multiple regression analysis were conducted to examine the predictive effects of clinical (cancer stage, comorbidities) and demographic variables (age, education), social support, and fear of receiving compassion from others on depressive symptoms. Results: Fear of receiving compassion from others was the only significant predictor of the model, with a positive effect on depression symptomatology (β = 0.44; p < 0.001). These results suggest that the amount of supportive socia...