Unexpected Features of Coronavirus Anxiety: Examination of Factors Predicting COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Anxiety among Cancer Patients/Koronavirüs Kaygisinin Beklenmeyen Yönleri: Kanser Hastalarinin COVID-19 Kaygilarini Etkileyen Faktörlerin Incelenmesi

While influencing the whole world, the 2019 coronavirus disease has also created a psychological burden on cancer patients, who are considered to be at increased risk. Although psychological factors predicting cancer patients' mental health have been revealed in a large body of literature, the role of these factors under the exceptional circumstances of a global pandemic need to be explored. Therefore, it was aimed to investigate the relationships between emotional control, coping styles, and perceived personal threat of contracting COVID-19 and the pandemic-related anxiety of cancer patients. Data were collected from 80 participants living in Turkey who have been diagnosed with cancer. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that pandemic-related anxiety was predicted by lower control of depressive emotions, increased use of seeking social support as a coping style, and higher perceived personal threat of contracting COVID-19, whereas pandemic-related anxiety seemed to be higher among non-metastatic cancer patients. Outcomes that diverge from the pre-pandemic literature have underlined the significance of considering the varying demands of pandemic conditions and reorganizing psychological interventions accordingly for cancer patients. Keywords: Anxiety, cancer, COVID-19, emotions Koronavirüs pek çok kisiyi etkiledigi gibi risk grubunda olarak görülen kanser hastalari için de psikolojik bir yük yaratmistir. Her ne kadar kanser hastalarinin psikolojik sagligini etkileyen psikolojik faktörler genis bir literatürde ortaya konmus olsa da, bu faktörlerin küresel bir pandeminin istisnai kosullari altindaki rolünün arastirilmasi önemli görülmektedir. Bu nedenle, bu çalismada duygusal kontrol, basa çikma stilleri ve algilanan kisisel COVID-19 bulasma tehdidi ile kanser hastalarinin pandemi ile iliskili kaygilari arasindaki iliskilerin arastirilmasi amaçlanmistir. Bu kapsamda, Türkiye'de yasayan ve kanser tanisi almis 80 katilimcidan veri toplanmistir. Hiyerarsik regresyon analizi, pandemi ile ilgili kayginin, depresif duygularin daha düsük kontrolü, basa çikma tarzi olarak sosyal destek aramanin daha fazla kullanilmasi ve algilanan COVID-19 bulasma tehditinin yüksek olmasi tarafindan yordandigini göstermektedir. Ayrica, metastazi olmayan kanser hastalarinin covid-19 pandemisiyle ilgili kaygilarinin daha yüksek oldugu görülmüstür. Pandemi öncesi alanyazindan ayrilan sonuçlar olmasi, pandemi kosullarinin degisen taleplerini dikkate almanin ve kanser hastalari içi