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Table 6 Comparison of Illness Perceptions between attendees and non-attendees

From: Health beliefs, illness perceptions and determinants of breast screening uptake in Malta: a cross-sectional survey

When you received your invite to the Breast Screening programme, did you attend?

Yes

No

Total

Chi-Square testa

Illness Perception

Mean

SD

Mean

SD

Mean

SD

χ2

p-value

The presence of a lump of thickening in the breast

3.9

0.4

3.9

0.3

3.9

0.3

5.5

0.141

Nipple discharge

3.9

0.4

3.8

0.4

3.9

0.4

3.8

0.286

Sudden nipple retraction

3.9

0.4

3.8

0.4

3.8

0.4

5.8

0.121

Change in shape or appearance of the nipple

3.9

0.3

3.9

0.3

3.9

0.3

1.7

0.630

Breast swelling, dimpling, redness or soreness of the skin

3.8

0.4

3.8

0.4

3.8

0.4

2.6

0.463

Skin changes of the breast

3.8

0.4

3.8

0.4

3.8

0.4

2.1

0.555

A sudden change in breast size

3.8

0.4

3.9

0.4

3.9

0.4

0.4

0.950

Aching breasts

3.5

0.7

3.5

0.7

3.5

0.7

2.9

0.578

Stress or worry

3.0

0.9

3.0

0.8

3.0

0.9

3.9

0.140

Your mental attitude (e.g. thinking about life negatively)

2.5

0.7

2.5

0.7

2.5

0.7

6.0

0.111

Family problems or worries

3.0

0.9

2.9

0.9

3.0

0.9

3.5

0.178

Overwork

2.5

0.8

2.4

0.7

2.5

0.8

4.1

0.249

Your emotional state (e.g. feeling down, lonely, anxious, empty)

2.5

0.8

2.6

0.8

2.5

0.8

19.0

0.000*

Your personality

2.4

0.7

2.5

0.7

2.5

0.7

6.6

0.087

Hereditary - it runs in the family

4.6

0.6

4.4

0.6

4.5

0.6

13.4

0.004*

Diet or eating habits

3.3

0.9

3.2

0.9

3.3

0.9

5.6

0.131

Poor medical care in the past

3.3

0.8

3.3

0.8

3.3

0.8

2.4

0.489

Your own behaviour

2.7

0.7

2.8

0.7

2.7

0.7

10.0

0.018*

Ageing

3.1

0.9

3.1

0.9

3.1

0.9

4.9

0.087

Smoking

3.7

0.7

3.6

0.7

3.7

0.7

3.0

0.399

Alcohol

3.5

0.8

3.4

0.8

3.5

0.8

0.1

0.948

A germ or virus

3.0

0.8

3.1

0.8

3.1

0.8

3.7

0.160

Pollution in the environment

3.7

0.8

3.5

0.8

3.6

0.8

6.1

0.108

Altered immunity

3.6

0.7

3.6

0.7

3.6

0.7

1.5

0.683

Chance or bad luck

3.0

1.0

2.8

0.9

2.9

1.0

5.8

0.214

Accident or injury

3.1

0.9

3.1

0.9

3.1

0.9

1.7

0.782

Breast cancer will last a short time

2.8

0.7

2.9

0.7

2.8

0.7

4.2

0.241

Breast cancer is likely to be permanent rather than temporary

3.3

0.8

3.2

0.8

3.3

0.8

1.5

0.481

A patient with breast cancer goes through cycles in which her illness gets better and worse

3.7

0.7

3.4

0.7

3.6

0.7

11.1

0.026*

Breast cancer has major consequences on a patient's life

4.3

0.6

4.2

0.5

4.3

0.6

14.2

0.003*

Breast cancer will not have much effect on your life

1.5

0.7

1.6

0.7

1.5

0.7

11.8

0.019*

Breast cancer would strongly affect the way others see you

3.3

1.0

3.3

0.9

3.3

0.9

14.9

0.005*

Breast cancer has serious economic and financial consequences

3.9

0.6

3.7

0.7

3.8

0.6

13.3

0.004*

Breast cancer would strongly affect the way you see yourself as a person

4.1

0.5

4.0

0.6

4.1

0.6

0.7

0.875

Breast cancer would threaten a relationship with your husband or partner

3.1

0.9

3.0

0.9

3.1

0.9

2.2

0.699

If you had breast cancer, your whole life would change

4.3

0.7

4.1

0.6

4.2

0.6

18.0

0.000*

If you developed breast cancer, the chances of living a long life would decrease

4.0

0.5

4.0

0.3

4.0

0.4

9.4

0.024*

There is a lot which you can do to control the symptoms if Breast Cancer occurs

3.9

0.4

3.9

0.4

3.9

0.4

2.6

0.629

The course of Breast Cancer will depend on your actions

4.0

0.4

3.9

0.3

3.9

0.4

5.9

0.118

Your actions will have an effect on the outcome of Breast Cancer

4.0

0.3

4.0

0.2

4.0

0.3

5.9

0.118

There is no treatment that will help to improve Breast Cancer

2.0

0.6

2.0

0.5

2.0

0.5

5.8

0.211

The treatment provided will be effective in controlling or curing Breast Cancer

4.0

0.3

3.9

0.3

4.0

0.3

1.8

0.615

The negative effects of Breast Cancer can be prevented or avoided by the treatment given

4.0

0.3

3.9

0.3

3.9

0.3

5.5

0.241

You have a clear picture and understanding of Breast Cancer

3.8

0.6

3.8

0.6

3.8

0.6

0.7

0.873

Breast Cancer is a mystery to you

3.2

1.0

3.2

1.0

3.2

1.0

3.7

0.455

You get anxious when you think about Breast Cancer

3.6

1.1

3.7

1.1

3.6

1.1

2.6

0.464

Breast Cancer makes you feel afraid

4.3

0.7

4.3

0.6

4.3

0.7

1.7

0.645

You get worried when you think about Breast Cancer

4.4

0.7

4.4

0.6

4.4

0.7

1.4

0.502

  1. *Significant at α=0.05
  2. aChi-square test was applied for all illness perceptions; hence the categorical answers were used to apply this test for association. For each question, respondents were asked to select a number between 1-5, where 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree.