Exploring the relationship between the body self and the sense of coherence in women after surgical treatment for breast cancer

Abstract Objective Analysis of the relationship between the body self (BS) and the sense of coherence (SOC) in women after breast surgery due to cancer in comparison with a control group. Methods A cross‐sectional study in a group of 78 women using the body–self questionnaire (BS‐Q), and the life orientation questionnaire (SOC‐29). Statistics based on the IBM SPSS v.25. Results Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) has shown significant differences based on groups in experiencing intimacy, manifesting femininity, body acceptance, and manageability. In particular, manifesting femininity and body acceptance showed a big effect size (0.30 < partial ɳ 2 < 0.32). Correlation analysis between the BS‐Q and SOC‐29 subscales and Fisher's r to z transformation determines that the differences between groups were significant in favour of healthy women in two sets of variables: experiencing intimacy/meaningfulness and attitude to food and weight/manageability. Conclusions Breast cancer survivors are at greater risk of developing decreased body acceptance and problems in intimacy, and have less correlation than the healthy control group between manageability and meaningfulness with an appropriate attitude to food and intimate relationship with their partner, respectively. A higher manifestation of femininity in the treated group can be considered a positive but socioculturally conditioned coping strategy.