A Retrospective Study Predicting Psychological Vulnerability in Adult Daughters of Breast Cancer Patients

This study was an attempt to identify vulnerability factors in two cohorts of daughters of breast cancer patients. One cohort consisted of daughters whose mothers survived breast cancer and the other consisted of daughters whose mothers died from breast cancer. The results revealed significant main effects. Greater caretaking involvement was associated with higher levels of cancer-related grief. Maternal loss to breast cancer predicted higher levels of cancer-related depression. Also, a history of a depression diagnosis in the daughters was associated with current depressive symptoms. Several significant interactions also emerged. Survival status of the mother and level of daughters' involvement in mother's breast cancer was shown to significantly affect the daughters' current depressive symptoms. Daughters who reported the lowest level of involvement with their mother's breast cancer reported the highest level of current depressive symptoms. Daughters who were less than 12 years of age at the time of their mother's diagnosis reported significantly higher current state anxiety than daughters who were 12 to 19 at the time of their mother's diagnosis. Daughters whose mothers died from breast cancer, who also had a past diagnosis of depression, reported significantly higher levels of cancer-related depression than daughters without a past diagnosis of depression. We concluded that maternal death among daughters who reported very low caretaking involvement reflects the most significant vulnerability to show current depressive symptoms. We also concluded that daughters possessing potential genetic vulnerability to depression are the most sensitized to traumatic life events such as maternal illness and death.