Role of Emotional Expression and Emotion Regulation in Post-Traumatic Growth in People with Cancer and Multiple Sclerosis: According to the Moderating role of Illness Type

Cancer and multiple sclerosis (MS), along with their adverse consequences, may be associated with the experience of post-traumatic growth. Therefore, it is essential to determine the antecedents of this growth. The present study aimed to determine the roles of emotional expression and emotion regulation in the prediction of post-traumatic growth in patients with cancer and MS. This applied research was conducted based on a correlation design in 2020. The study population included patients with MS and cancer in Asia Hospital in Tehran, out of whom 124 cases were selected via  convenience sampling in two group of cancer and MS (n=62 in each group). The data was collected using post-traumatic growth (Tedeschi et al), cognitive emotion regulation (Garnefski et al), and King & Emmons questionnaires. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 23) using the Pearson correlation test, standard regression test, and Fisher Z test. Based on the results, positive expression and positive emotion regulation in both groups (P <0.01), as well as intimacy in the cancer group (P <0.01), had a significant positive correlation with post-traumatic growth. The cancer (R=0.58) and MS (R=0.48) (P=0.447) groups did not significantly differ in multivariate correlation. Furthermore, in both groups, positive expression and positive emotion regulation were the significant predictors of post-traumatic growth. As evidenced by the obtained results, in both groups of cancer and MS, the promotion of positive emotional expression and regulation of positive emotion can enhance post-traumatic growth.