The present study aimed to investigate the effect mindfulness training on the rumination in women with breast cancer. Results showed that the mean score of rumination before the intervention in both groups was average. These results are consistent with those of Falsafi et al study, (2019) in women with frequent abortion and with those of Campbell et al study (2011) in women with breast cancer living in Alberta, Canada (16, 23). In the study of Mohammadpour et al (2016) on women with breast cancer in Tehran (31) as well as that of Ghanavati et al (2018) on women with breast cancer in Ahvaz, the mean score of rumination was more than that of the present study (32). In this regard, the results were different from the present study. This difference results from the research population. In the study of Mohammadpour et al., all participants were undergoing chemotherapy which can increase the score of rumination; while in the present study, those patients whose chemotherapy period passed three months included in the study. In the study of Ghanavati et al, the education level of participants was lower than that of participants in the present study which can cause a difference in score of rumination (32). Studies showed that those who have higher education level know the ways of struggling with the problem because they focus on the problem-solving thoughts in stressful conditions rather than negative and repetitive emotions resulting from a failure (33). This can be a reason for the low score of rumination in the present study. Following diagnosis and treatment, patients with breast cancer experience not only physical disabilities but also depression and anxiety. Emotions associated with anxiety and depression, including the feeling of worthlessness or hopelessness cause reactions such as denial, anger, and guilt that affect their mental health (7). In the study of Heydarian et al (2016), the mean score of rumination was more than average which was different from the present study. The reason for this difference may be associated with the period in which the participants’ information was received and the demographic features of the research units. In the study of Heydarian et al, the research participants were doing treatment or cancer has metastasized which can increase the score of rumination. Besides, in their study, some research participants were single while all patients in the present study were married and lived with their wives. According to studies, spouse support can improve people's mental health (34). The between- group study indicated that there is a significant difference between the mean scores of rumination in both groups which means that immediately and one month after the intervention, the mean score of rumination in the control group was more than that of intervention group; although in within-groups comparison, the decrease caused in the intervention group was not significant, the between- group difference resulting from this decrease in the intervention group and an increase in mean score in control group show that patients in the intervention group are better than the control group in terms of rumination. The results of the present study are consistent with those of some studies ( Campbell et al. (2012), Zhang et al. (2016), Heydarian et al. (2016), Mohammadpour et al. (2016), Falsafi et al. (2019), Nobakht and Nikmanesh. (2019)) (16, 17, 23, 31, 35, 36). These studies aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of mindfulness and the results indicated the positive effect of mindfulness on decreasing rumination in patients with breast cancer. It is worth noting that the difference between both groups in this study results from the process of aggravating the rumination in the control group. In other words, although there was a statistically significant difference between the control and intervention group in terms of rumination,; the reason for the difference was falling the rumination in the intervention group in the mentioned studies and increasing rumination in the control group in the present study. Consequently, the intervention group acts well psychologically. In explaining this result, mindfulness decreases rumination and anxiety using some techniques such as teaching relaxation techniques, accepting the status quo without any judgment, and increasing the awareness of the present moment (17). Further, the qualitative study points to the positive effects of mindfulness by decreasing the stigma, being able to face the difficulties, and feeling the sense of control as a specific factor (37).
The results of the within-group comparison indicate that in the intervention group, the mean score of rumination decreased after the intervention compared to pre-intervention but this difference was not statistically significant. In the control group, there was a significant difference among three times meaning that the score of rumination had ascending trend over time.
Considering the ascending trend of scores from the time of pre-intervention to one month after the intervention in the control group and lack of difference in the intervention group, the result of the present study was inconsistent with those of Mohammadpour et al, which showed the lack of difference in different times in control group and a decrease in the intervention group (31). The reason for this difference may be the primary scores of rumination. In Mohammadpour’s study, the mean scores of rumination were higher. On one hand, this highness can significantly decrease with interventions that are not long and on the other hand, the rumination is so high that remains unchanged (stable) in the control group that no intervention was done; In Mohammadpour’s study, although the intervention decreases the rumination, it failed to bring the rate to the average level or lower. The results of the present study in which rumination is average showed that if not any intervention for decreasing the rumination is done for patients with breast cancer, the level of rumination goes up; on the other hand, they show that although the intervention decreases the rumination immediately after and one month after the intervention compared to pre-intervention, the decrease was not significant. It shows that to bring the rumination below the average, the intervention is needed in the long term. It seems that although increasing the mean score of rumination one month after the intervention is not significant compared to immediately after the intervention, the rumination starts increasing in case of intervention stoppage and it shows the need for intervention continuity so that the intervention becomes an integral part of individual’s daily behavior. A comparison of the effect of a mindfulness-based intervention on different levels of rumination can show how this intervention affects groups with different levels of rumination and thus recommends to use this intervention in the groups that benefit from it. In the study of Heydarian et al (2016), the scores of ruminations in the intervention group were different before and after the intervention but it was the same in the control group (17) which was inconsistent with the result of within-group comparison in the present study. The reason for this difference may be related to the research tool and the reason mentioned in Mohammadpour’s study. In the study of Falsafi et al (2019), although the significant level of the within-group test was not reported, the mean score of rumination decreased after the intervention but the mean score of the control group did not change (23). The result of their study is inconsistent with those of within-group comparison in the present study. The reason for this inconsistency relies on the target population. Falsafi et al performed a study on women with frequent abortion; as a result, mindfulness can decrease rumination by making them concentrated on the present moment meaning that it disappears the effects of past events. In patients with breast cancer, changing the attitude and making a pleasant feeling is difficult concerning that cancer is considered an incurable disease from the viewpoint of many people; while cancer is the current issue of patients, not a past event; dealing with rumination resulting from this issue needs longer intervention or a combination of different interventions. Investigation of other psychological interventions along with mindfulness can determine the best type of effective intervention on the psychological state of women with breast cancer. These patients are preoccupied with unpleasant thoughts due to the complications of the disease and its treatment. Further, they have depression and rumination due to the deformation of their body and concern about metastasis to other parts of the body (38). To prevent the intensification of the general health of patients with breast cancer in terms of the psychological consequences, treatment and complications such as rumination, we can use the metacognitive-based therapies from the third generation of psychotherapy. These treatments exercise therapeutic effects by stopping resistant processing activities such as anxiety and rumination (39). Accordingly, we can remove or minimize the consequences.
The present study had some limitations. One of the most important limitations includes the small sample size and consequently its limited statistical power. Another limitation of this study was the lack of long-term follow-up due to the inaccessibility to all participants during the period. It is suggested to conduct studies with a large sample size as well as longtime intervention and follow-ups.
Clinical practice
Generally speaking, the intervention group was better than the control group in terms of rumination which results from the effect of the intervention on the prevention of the ascending trend of rumination. It is needed to investigate whether elongating and continuing the intervention can decrease rumination. Moreover, using other therapies along with mindfulness and its comparison with this type of intervention can determine the best and the most effective intervention to deal with min rumination resulting from breast cancer and its complications. In this regard, performing further studies is recommended. Besides, the mindful intervention on women with breast cancer can decrease the rumination. Thus, it can be used as a supportive treatment to improve the mental health of these patients in all treatment processes.