avoidant coping style

Objective : Despite significant antiemetic advances, almost 50 % of treated cancer patients still experience nausea and vomiting. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of avoidant coping in the relationships between psychological well-being and chemotherapy-induced delayed nausea in women with breast cancer in Shiraz. Method : The research method was descriptive-correlational. The statistical population of this study consists of women with breast cancer in Shiraz with an average age of 51 to 56 years. In this research, a non-random and voluntary sampling method was used; thus, 211 female patients with breast cancer treated by chemotherapy voluntarily completed the relevant questionnaires, which included psychological well-being questionnaire (Ryff, 1989), chemotherapy-induced delayed nausea questionnaire (Rhodes & McDaniel, 1999), and coping style questionnaire (Endler & Parker, 1990). The data were analyzed by AMOS software. Results : Research findings showed a negative and significant relationship between psychological well-being and avoidant coping style, and a positive and significant relationship between avoidant coping style and delayed nausea. The Sobel test confirmed the mediating role of avoidant coping style in the relationship between psychological well-being and delayed nausea. Therefore, it can be concluded that there was a relationship between psychological well-being and delayed nausea, with the mediation of avoidant coping style. Also, psychological well-being had an indirect effect on delayed nausea. Conclusion : Chemotherapy-induced delayed nausea can be reduced by improving coping skills and strategies and the psychological well-being of women with breast cancer.