TY - JOUR
T1 - Fatalism and Psychological Distress Among Chinese American Breast Cancer Survivors
T2 - Mediating Role of Perceived Self-control and Fear of Cancer Recurrence
AU - Tsai, William
AU - Wang, Judy Huei yu
N1 - Funding Information:
The project described was supported by Award Number R21CA139408 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Lance Armstrong Foundation Young Investigator Award. The translation and validation of the PROMIS Chinese short forms was supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grants No. U01AR057971. The collection of cancer incidence data used in this study was supported by the California Department of Public Health as part of the statewide cancer reporting program mandated by California Health and Safety Code Section 103885; the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program under contract HHSN261201000140C awarded to the Cancer Prevention Institute of California; contract HHSN261201000035C awarded to the University of Southern California; and contract HHSN261201000034C awarded to the Public Health Institute; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Program of Cancer Registries, under agreement # U58DP003862-01 awarded to the California Department of Public Health. The ideas and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s). The first author’s time was supported by a K01 career development award, 1K01MD014750, from NIH/NIMHD. Endorsement by the State of California Department of Public Health, the NCI and NIH, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or their Contractors and Subcontractors is not intended nor should be inferred. We thank Dr. Scarlett L. Gomez for her partnership and contribution to data collection of this study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, International Society of Behavioral Medicine.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Background: Extant literature on the relationship between cancer fatalism and psychological distress among Chinese American breast cancer survivors has been mixed, and few studies have examined potential mediators of this relationship. The current study examined how cancer fatalism is associated with psychological distress by investigating perceived personal control and fear of cancer recurrence as mediators, and acculturation as a moderator of these relationships. Method: A total of 220 Chinese American women diagnosed with stage 0–III breast cancer were recruited from California cancer registries and completed a telephone survey. The measurement of cancer fatalism examined one’s view of health as a result of destiny. Validated measures of psychological distress (i.e., depressive and anxiety symptoms), fear of cancer recurrence, and perceived personal control were used. Acculturation was defined by English proficiency, preferred interview language, and number of years lived in the USA. Results: Higher cancer fatalism was directly associated with greater depressive and anxiety symptoms after controlling for covariates. This association was also mediated by higher fear of cancer recurrence, but not by perceived control. The mediation was not moderated by acculturation. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that Chinese American breast cancer survivors’ fatalistic beliefs may exacerbate fear of cancer recurrence, and, in turn, depressive and anxiety symptoms. Fear of recurrence was more salient than perceived control in their associations with psychological distress among Chinese American cancer survivors. Future intervention research may adopt cognitive approaches to alter Chinese survivors’ fatalistic views of health outcomes to reduce their psychological distress.
AB - Background: Extant literature on the relationship between cancer fatalism and psychological distress among Chinese American breast cancer survivors has been mixed, and few studies have examined potential mediators of this relationship. The current study examined how cancer fatalism is associated with psychological distress by investigating perceived personal control and fear of cancer recurrence as mediators, and acculturation as a moderator of these relationships. Method: A total of 220 Chinese American women diagnosed with stage 0–III breast cancer were recruited from California cancer registries and completed a telephone survey. The measurement of cancer fatalism examined one’s view of health as a result of destiny. Validated measures of psychological distress (i.e., depressive and anxiety symptoms), fear of cancer recurrence, and perceived personal control were used. Acculturation was defined by English proficiency, preferred interview language, and number of years lived in the USA. Results: Higher cancer fatalism was directly associated with greater depressive and anxiety symptoms after controlling for covariates. This association was also mediated by higher fear of cancer recurrence, but not by perceived control. The mediation was not moderated by acculturation. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that Chinese American breast cancer survivors’ fatalistic beliefs may exacerbate fear of cancer recurrence, and, in turn, depressive and anxiety symptoms. Fear of recurrence was more salient than perceived control in their associations with psychological distress among Chinese American cancer survivors. Future intervention research may adopt cognitive approaches to alter Chinese survivors’ fatalistic views of health outcomes to reduce their psychological distress.
KW - Breast cancer
KW - Cancer fatalism
KW - Chinese
KW - Fear of cancer recurrence
KW - Perceived personal control
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U2 - 10.1007/s12529-022-10136-z
DO - 10.1007/s12529-022-10136-z
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85141395720
JO - International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
JF - International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
SN - 1070-5503
ER -