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Self-stigma predicts lower quality of life in Chinese American breast cancer survivors: exploring the mediating role of intrusive thoughts and posttraumatic growth

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Abstract

Background

It is common for Chinese American breast cancer survivors to believe that having cancer is a stigmatizing condition. Little research exists on how this might affect their quality of life (QoL) and through which psychological processes.

Objective

In the present study, we examined the association between self-stigma and QoL in a sample of Chinese American breast cancer survivors and tested the potential mediating roles of intrusive thoughts and posttraumatic growth in this relationship.

Methods

One hundred and thirty-six Chinese American breast cancer survivors completed a questionnaire packet assessing their levels of self-stigma, intrusive thoughts, posttraumatic growth, and QoL.

Results

As hypothesized, findings indicated a significant negative correlation between self-stigma and QoL. Findings from a path analysis indicated significant indirect effects of self-stigma on QoL through intrusive thoughts and posttraumatic growth—the negative correlation between self-stigma and QoL was completely mediated by more intrusive thoughts and less posttraumatic growth.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that self-stigma may harm QoL among Chinese American breast cancer survivors by leading to more intrusive thoughts and not focusing on posttraumatic growth. To attenuate the negative impact of self-stigma on QoL among Chinese American breast cancer survivors, cognition-focused interventions should be utilized to reduce intrusive thoughts and foster posttraumatic growth.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Herald Cancer Association for their support in recruiting participants and data collection.

Funding

This study was supported by the American Cancer Society MRSGT-10-011-01-CPPB (PI: Qian Lu).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Houston, 126 Heyne Bldg, Houston, TX, 77204-2616, USA

    Celia C. Y. Wong & Qian Lu

  2. Department of Psychology, California State University, 1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA, 90840, USA

    Bradley M. Pan-Weisz

  3. University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University, 6363 Alvarado Court, Suite 102, San Diego, CA, 92120-4913, USA

    Tonya M. Pan-Weisz

  4. Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA

    Tonya M. Pan-Weisz

  5. JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong

    Nelson C. Y. Yeung

  6. Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 3/F Sino Building, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong

    Winnie W. S. Mak

  7. Department of Health Disparity Research-UNIT 1440, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 301402, Houston, TX, 77230-1402, USA

    Qian Lu

Authors
  1. Celia C. Y. Wong
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  2. Bradley M. Pan-Weisz
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  3. Tonya M. Pan-Weisz
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  5. Winnie W. S. Mak
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  6. Qian Lu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qian Lu.

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All authors do not have any potential conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards (University of Houston IRB Protocol number: 12559-02).

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Wong, C.C.Y., Pan-Weisz, B.M., Pan-Weisz, T.M. et al. Self-stigma predicts lower quality of life in Chinese American breast cancer survivors: exploring the mediating role of intrusive thoughts and posttraumatic growth. Qual Life Res 28, 2753–2760 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-019-02213-w

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