The Relationship Between Difficulty in Emotion Regulation and Addiction-Related Behaviours in Patients with Cancer: The Mediating Role of Pain Self-Efficacy and Pain Acceptance

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the mediating role of pain acceptance and self-efficacy in the relationship between the tendency to addiction and difficulty in emotion regulation in patients with cancer. The current research was descriptive-correlation based on path analysis. The statistical population included all the cancer patients of Arak City in 2019-2020, out of which 215 people were selected by purposive sampling. The patients completed a battery of questionnaires including Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS, Gratzz & Roemer, 2004), Chronic  Pain Acceptance Questionaire (CPAQ, Aclestoon & Carken, 2004), Pain Self-Efficacy Questionaire (PSEQ, Nicholas, 2007) and Tendency to Addiction Questionaire (TAQ, Weed & Yacher, 1992). Data were analyzed by path analysis. Path analysis results showed that pain acceptance and pain self-efficacy had a direct and negative impact on addiction tendency (P< 0.01).  Difficulties in emotion regulation have a positive and indirect with addiction via pain acceptance and pain self-efficacy (P < 0.01). Fit indices also indicated approval of the suggested model. This suggests that pain acceptance and pain self-efficacy play a mediating role in the relationship between difficulties in emotion regulation and the tendency to addiction.