Predicting breast cancer screening intentions and behavior with emotion and cognition

The present study applied the key elements of the Self-Regulation model to predicting breast cancer screening intentions. The participants in this study were women aged 18 to 73 years recruited from family members with breast cancer and through public announcements in local papers, all with a history of breast cancer. The women (n = 357) completed a baseline questionnaire. Participants' perceptions of their own risk relative to their medical risk varied widely. In contrast to the lack of relationship of beliefs and cognitions to overestimation of breast cancer risk estimates, several emotional variables were related to overestimation. Cancer worry and perceived risk increased significantly as risk overestimation increased. There were differences among the predictors of the breast cancer screening outcomes in the regression models, including perceived risk, cancer worry, and coping strategies. These data inform the literature on emotions, cognitions, and breast care.