AUTHOR=Wang Miaomiao , Liu Yumin , Liu Yuxi , Han Bingxue , Teng Shuai , Chen Xiaoli 

TITLE=Interpretation bias among breast cancer patients with post-traumatic stress symptoms

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 16 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1564359

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1564359

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate interpretation bias in breast cancer patients exhibiting post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), which may affect their cognitive and emotional processing of ambiguous stimuli. Understanding this bias could help inform interventions to address cognitive distortions in this population.MethodsA total of 234 breast cancer patients were assessed for PTSS using the Impact of Event Scale (IES). Based on their PTSS status, 40 participants were randomly selected from both PTSS-positive and PTSS-negative groups, resulting in 80 participants. All participants completed an ambiguous facial expression judgment task.ResultsThe PTSS group showed significantly higher proportions of “sad” judgments and longer reaction times than the non-PTSS group across all levels of facial expression ambiguity, suggesting increased cognitive load when interpreting ambiguous emotional stimuli.ConclusionBreast cancer patients with PTSS exhibit a marked negative interpretation bias, which may exacerbate cognitive distortions. These findings highlight the importance of addressing interpretation biases in therapeutic interventions for this population.