Different patterns of emotion regulation have been proposed for dealing with the intense emotions elicited while coping with cancer. The relationships between these different emotion regulation patterns have not yet been studied. This study examined the usage levels of different emotion regulation patterns (repression, suppression, experiential avoidance and cognitive reappraisal), the intercorrelations and clustering of these patterns and their associations with personal coping resources (personal resilience and self-compassion) in a sample of colorectal cancer survivors. This was a cross-sectional study in which 153 colorectal cancer survivors, stages II–III, (47% female, 53% male), aged 26–87, completed the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-6, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, the Resilience Scale-14 and the Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form. The four emotion regulation patterns were found to be distinct from each other (i.e., low to moderate correlations). Cognitive reappraisal was negatively related to suppression and experiential avoidance and positively associated with self-compassion. Two-step cluster analysis revealed three distinct clusters: Cluster 1—the suppression-avoidance dominant cluster; Cluster 2—the cognitive reappraisal dominant cluster; and Cluster 3—the repression dominant cluster. Repression, suppression, experiential avoidance and cognitive reappraisal were found to differ from each other but able to be organized into distinct clusters of survivors. Healthcare professionals should be aware of these different emotion regulation patterns and the need to identify the patterns used by each survivor.

To assess levels of acute stress symptoms (ASS) and prevalence of acute stress disorder (ASD) in an Israeli civilian sample and examine sociodemographic and war exposure predictors of ASS and ASD. A telephone survey was conducted in the fourth week of the 7 October war with a random sample of 199 Jewish and 194 Arab adult residents from areas of lower Galilee and Acre, Herzliya, and Eilat. ASS and ASD were measured by the Acute Stress Disorder Interview. War exposure and sociodemographic data were collected. 60% of participants met the criteria for ASD. Levels of ASS were relatively high. 21% of the variance in total ASS score was explained by sociodemographic (sex, age, education, ethnicity) and war exposure variables (acquaintance injured, killed, or kidnapped; subjective sense of danger to self or relatives; property or income damage). The present study revealed significant although mild associations of ASS with war exposure variables (acquaintance injured, killed, or kidnapped; subjective sense of danger to self or relatives; property or home damage; and employment or income damage). Logistic regression indicated that women were 1.55 times more likely to have ASD than men. Arabs were 2.02 times more likely to have ASD than Jews. The present study stresses the need to construct an acute stress screening procedure to identify individuals with severe acute stress reactions. We call attention to the need to build interventions to reduce these symptoms immediately during warfare to prevent them from developing into chronic posttraumatic stress disorder. Strengthening community resilience may reduce the rate of ASS upon exposure to war.

Purpose: Unhealthy lifestyle increases the risk of comorbidities, reduced quality of life, and cancer recurrence among breast cancer survivors. It is important to identify emotional and cognitive factors that may affect the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle over time. This study examined the associations of perceived lifestyle discrepancy, self-compassion, and emotional distress with the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle among breast cancer survivors and the mediating role of emotion regulation patterns (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) in these associations. Methods: A total of 145 female breast cancer survivors aged 31–77 completed self-reports on healthy lifestyle maintenance, perceived lifestyle discrepancy, self-compassion, emotional distress, and emotion regulation patterns. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Results: Mean physical activity and healthy diet maintenance scores were moderate. The structural equation modeling analysis showed good fit indicators (χ2 = 4.21, df = 10, p = .94; χ2/df = 0.42; NFI = .98; TLI = 1.09; CFI = 1.00; RMSEA = .00, 95% CI (.00, .02)). Lower perceived lifestyle discrepancy was directly associated with higher physical activity (β = −.34, p < .01) and healthy diet (β =−.39, p < .01). Cognitive reappraisal was associated with higher physical activity ( β = .19, p < .01), and expressive suppression was associated with lower physical activity ( β = −.19, p < .01), and both mediated the association between self-compassion and physical activity. Conclusions: The mediated associations reported in this study indicate that psychosocial factors, especially self-compassion, perceived lifestyle discrepancy, and emotional regulation patterns, are relevant to healthy lifestyle maintenance among breast cancer survivors, because solely providing healthy lifestyle recommendations does not motivate individuals to adhere to them. Implications for Cancer Survivors: Short-term structured psychosocial interventions designed to reduce perceived health discrepancy and strengthen self-compassion should be implemented and their effect on lifestyle should be further evaluated.