Verbal Interference towards Terms Associated to Cancer in College Students*

摘要

Due to the important role cervical cancer plays on female Public Health in Mexico, the aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between levels of concern towards cancer in general, with the level of knowledge towards cervical cancer among college students. 70 students participated in the study. They answered a discrimination task based on the emotional version of the Stroop paradigm with words associated to cancer (Hernandez-Pozo and Torres, 2004), and a physiological reactivity was recorded as a byproduct of the behavioral task. In order to measure verbal anxiety, a Fears Checklist previously validated with Mexican people was used (Hernandez-Pozo, Calleja, Sanchez, Coronado, Macias and Cerezo, 2009). Additionally level of knowledge about cervical cancer was assessed by a brief multiple option questionnaire. Results showed differences for anxiety indexes related to sex, women scored higher than men in the Fears Checklist (t=2.81, p=0.006). A direct relationship between age and anxiety was also recorded, and higher knowledge about cervical cancer produced higher physiological reactivity (F=3.56, p=0.003). Scores of the Fears Checklist varied directly with the Stroop measures. This study showed that triple assessment of anxiety towards cancer could be a useful tool for assessing the impact of intervention campaigns focalized on high risk groups.