How Stigma Undermines Mental Health in Young Patients With Lung Cancer

Stigma negatively influences psychosocial adjustment in young and middle-aged patients with lung cancer, according to findings from a recent study published in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship.

A team of researchers from China conducted the study to explore the role of resilience in mediating the association between stigma and psychosocial adjustment, and to examine the level of psychosocial adjustment and its influencing factors in this patient population.

Data for the cross-sectional study were gathered from October 2022 to October 2023 and were collected using a “self-designed demographic and disease-related questionnaire,” in addition to the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale – Self Report, the Social Impact Scale, and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale.

The total cohort of participants included 245 patients with lung cancer who were recruited from a tertiary grade A cancer center in southern China. The researchers employed hierarchical multiple regression analyses and “the mediation Model 4 of the PROCESS macro in SPSS” to analyze the study data.

According to the results, 42.9% of participants presented with moderate or severe psychosocial maladjustment. The final regression model identified six factors related to psychosocial adjustment, including financial stress, cancer stage, time since treatment completion, dyspnea, stigma, and resilience. The investigators also explained that these factors accounted for 46.2% of the variance of psychosocial adjustment.

The findings ultimately revealed that “the total and direct effects of stigma on psychosocial adjustment were significant, and a positive indirect effect was identified for stigma on psychosocial adjustment via resilience.”

The investigators concluded that stigma had a negative influence on psychosocial adjustment among patients in this population and resilience had a “partial mediating effect on the relationship.”

In reflecting on the implications for survivors of lung cancer, the study authors noted that “targeted psychosocial interventions should be developed to alleviate stigma, enhance psychological resilience, and ultimately support patients’ reintegration into society and their return to normal life.”