Fear Management and Type of Cervical Cancer Screening

Concepts of the Terror Management Theory (TMT) were used in an empirical, hypothesis-testing study to explore fear in women who wait to be examined for cervical cancer using VIA methodology or the Pap smear methodology. The assumption is that because of the association between cancer and death, these women are reminded of their mortality while waiting. The TMT assumes that the consciousness of one's own mortality can be regarded as a source of existential anguish. Proclivities for survival creates potentially paralyzing anxiety, which people manage by investing in a meaningful conception of the world (worldview) that prescribes valued behavior and thus also a way to maintain self-esteem. The respondents in the present study were women who were in the policlinic waiting to be screened for cervical cancer. These women were divided into two groups; one was waiting to be examined using the VIA screening and they would receive their result instantly while the other group was waiting to be examined using the Pap smear screening and they would receive their result in four to six weeks. The results show that self-esteem moderated the influence of the screening method on fear and on world view defense. It is concluded that the levels of fear of women waiting to be screened can at least partly be understood from the perspective of TMT. Applying Fear in a realistic context provides new angles and challlenges to test the TMT theory and to understand psychological reactions in that context.