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 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, International Society of Behavioral Medicine.
PY - 2023/10
Y1 - 2023/10
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
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85141395720&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85141395720&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s12529-022-10136-z
DO - 10.1007/s12529-022-10136-z
M3 - Article
C2 - 36333553
AN - SCOPUS:85141395720
SN - 1070-5503
VL - 30
SP - 705
EP - 713
JO - International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
JF - International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
IS - 5
ER -