THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANXIETY LEVELS AND COPING IN FAMILIES OF BREAST CANCER PATIENTS
Abstract
Anxiety is a state of psychological range characterized by the presence of a general sense of discomfort, often the runway point is unclear and unnoticed by the individual. The coping mechanism is an effort to adjust to the stressor by developing the ability of the power source it has. This study aims to see and analyze the extent of the relationship between anxiety levels and coping mechanisms in families of breast cancer patients. The study was carried out in 2025 using a cross-sectional design involving 45 respondents. Anxiety measurements were carried out using the Zung Self Anxiety-Rating Scale, while the coping mechanism was measured by the Brief COPE instrument. The results showed that the majority of respondents experienced mild level anxiety (66.7%) with adaptive mechanisms (55.6%). Statistical analysis using the Chi-Square test showed a significant relationship between anxiety and coping mechanisms (p-value=0.036 < α=0.05). The lower the level of anxiety, the higher the tendency of respondents to use adaptive coping mechanisms in overcoming the anxiety. The adaptive coping mechanism has an important role for the families of breast cancer patients in reducing the pressure of the problems they face. Increasing family knowledge related to anxiety and the development of adaptive coping mechanisms are indispensable.
Keywords: anxiety, breast cancer, coping, family
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