Body image concerns in breast cancer: an exploratory study on the role of partners’ perceptions and well-being

BACKGROUND: While extensive research has explored the impact of breast cancer on patients’ health and quality of life, considerably less attention has been paid to understanding how the emotional and psychological well-being of intimate partners are related to women’s psychological outcomes. This study investigates associations among partners’ perceptions of body image and their impact on psychological distress and coping flexibility during the post-treatment period. METHODS: Using a snowball sampling method, forty Italian couples (N = 80)—each consisting of a breast cancer patient who had undergone surgery and the committed partner—were recruited. Participants completed psychometric assessments measuring anxiety, depression, distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), as well as psychological flexibility (Perceived Ability to Cope with Trauma). Patients’ body image was evaluated through the Body Image Scale, while partners’ perceptions of the women’s body image were captured through an ad hoc questionnaire. Finally, two separate multiple linear regression models were conducted to test associations between study variables. RESULTS: Patients’ mean age was 48.60 ± 10.27 years, and partners’ mean age was 50.60 ± 11.47 years. Most couples had been in a stable relationship for more than 5 years. Most patients had undergone mastectomy (67.50%) and received adjuvant therapies; only 5 (12.50%) underwent surgery alone. In the first regression model (Adj. R2 = 0.52), patients’ body image was positively associated with partners’ perceptions of patients’ body image (β = 0.68) and with partners’ distress (β = 0.30) and depression (β = 0.29). The second model (Adj. R2 = 0.47) indicated that partners’ psychological flexibility (β = 0.41) was positively, and partners’ depression (β = –0.48) and anxiety (β = –0.51) were negatively, associated with patients’ coping flexibility. CONCLUSIONS: The present results underscore the critical role of patients’ and partners’ perceptions in the clinical management of body image issues and coping with breast cancer-related concerns, particularly through flexibility-focused coping strategies. Healthcare providers should consider addressing partners’ mental health symptomatology and their responses to the psychological and physical changes experienced by women when developing interventions to alleviate body image concerns.