A Comparative Study of Cognitive Fusion in Cancer Patients and Healthy Individuals

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare cognitive avoidance and cognitive fusion in patients with cancer and healthy individuals. The research design was descriptive, specifically a causal-comparative study. The statistical population consisted of two groups: the first group comprised patients with cancer who were hospitalized at the Shahid Ghazi Tabatabaei Hematology and Oncology Research Center in Tabriz during a two-month period (Azar and Dey, 1402 [late 2023/early 2024]); the second group consisted of healthy individuals who were present as companions to the patients. Sampling was conducted using a convenience sampling method, and based on previous research, a sample size of 45 individuals per group—totaling 90 participants—was selected. In both groups, the Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (Sexton & Dugas) and the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (Gillanders et al.) were administered. Data were analyzed using a Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) via SPSS 23 software. The results indicated a significant difference in cognitive avoidance between patients with cancer (86.89) and healthy individuals (70.76), with higher levels of cognitive avoidance observed in the cancer patients. Furthermore, a significant difference was found regarding cognitive fusion between patients with cancer (45.56) and healthy individuals (36.61), with higher levels of cognitive fusion also present in the cancer patients. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that there is a significant difference in cognitive avoidance and cognitive fusion between patients with cancer and healthy individuals. Therefore, alongside physical treatments, psychological interventions can also be employed to reduce the levels of cognitive avoidance and cognitive fusion in these patients.