Yu Z, Sun D, Sun J. Social Support and Fear of Cancer Recurrence Among Chinese Breast Cancer Survivors: The Mediation Role of Illness Uncertainty.
Front Psychol 2022;
13:864129. [PMID:
35369168 PMCID:
PMC8966644 DOI:
10.3389/fpsyg.2022.864129]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective
To examine the relations between social support, illness uncertainty (IU), and fear of cancer recurrence (FCR).
Methods
Using data from a convenience sample of 231 breast cancer survivors in China to perform structural equation modeling with bootstrapping estimation. Participants were recruited from a general hospital in Shenyang, China. Participants completed the Perceived Social Support Scale, Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale, and Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory- Shorter Form.
Results
The majority of breast cancer survivors have FCR (67.5%). FCR was significantly negatively associated with social support, and was significantly positively associated with IU (both P < 0.01). Moreover, IU was found to mediate the relationship between social support and FCR (standardized indirect effect = -0.18; bias-corrected 95% confidence interval: -0.255, -0.123).
Conclusion
The findings support the final model. Good social support can directly mitigate FCR, while illness uncertainty can play a mediation role between social support and FCR. Further studies should be conducted to explore effective interventions for social support and IU to ultimately mitigate FCR in cancer survivors.
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