From the work of Grossarth-Maticek and Eysenck to the Spielberger scales: their application in women with breast cancer

Although it has received harsh criticism, the work of Grossarth-Maticek and Eysenck has been very relevant in the field of psycho-oncology that studies the existence of a premorbid psychological profile. One of the objectives of this article is to provide insight into this research effort, one of whose latest derivations has been the elaboration of of Spielberger’s scales: Rationality/Emotional Defensiveness and Need for Harmony. With the aim to prove if the latter were able to discriminate between women with breast cancer and those who did not suffer from it, the scales were administered to 149 women in a situation of inpatient prebiopsy. The results do not show significant differences in the scores on any of the scales between the women who were later diagnosed with breast cancer and those diagnosed with a benign breast disease. The results obtained were also compared with the original subscales. These findings question whether the scales used can differentiate women with breast cancer from those without an oncological disease.