Abstract
BACKGROUND: This 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. METHODS: A 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. RESULTS: The 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. CONCLUSION: Breast 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.