An investigation of hostile and alexithymic characteristics in breast cancer patients

Two measures of personality characteristics, the Personality Deviance Scale and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, were administered to a total sample of 448 women and a subsample of 100 women, respectively, attending two breast-screening centers in Athens. The relative risk of breast cancer between women with low denigratory attitudes towards others and women with high scores in this scale was 2.31. Statistically significant relations were not noted between the mean scores of alexithymia factors and breast cancer diagnosis. Our findings point to the conclusion that breast cancer patients can be distinguished from healthy women on the basis of their cognitive activity, characterized by rare denigratory thoughts.