Moderators of the association between stigma and psychological and cancer-related symptoms in women with non-small cell lung cancer
Menée aux Etats-Unis auprès de 56 femmes atteintes d'un cancer du poumon non à petites cellules, cette étude transversale analyse les facteurs (pleine conscience, auto-compassion, soutien social, etc.) pouvant modérer l'association entre la stigmatisation du cancer du poumon et les symptômes psychologiques liés à la maladie
Objective : Lung cancer patients, particularly women, are vulnerable to experience disease-related stigma, which is linked to greater psychological distress and worse treatment outcomes. To inform future stigma-resilience interventions, we examined if mindfulness, self-compassion, and social support might buffer the associations between perceived lung cancer stigma and psychological and cancer-related symptoms. Methods : In this cross-sectional study, women with recently diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer undergoing cancer treatment completed measures of lung cancer stigma (CLCSS), depressive (CES-D), stress (IES) and cancer-related (MDASI-LC) symptoms, mindfulness (MAAS), self-compassion (SCS), and social support (SPS). Results : The sample included 56 women (mean age=65 years; 71% non-Hispanic White; 50% college educated; 74% advanced stage) who had consented to participate in an online support group study. Most (70%) had a smoking history and reported moderate levels of stigma (M=36.28, SD=10.51). Based on general linear modeling, mindfulness moderated the associations between stigma and depressive symptoms (F=5.78, p=.02), cancer-related stress (F=12.21, p=.002), and cancer-related symptom severity (F=4.61, p=.04), such that, only for women scoring low in mindfulness, the associations between stigma and symptoms were significant. For those scoring high in mindfulness, the associations between stigma and symptoms were not significant supporting a buffering effect. Self-compassion and social support did not significantly moderate the stigma and symptom associations. Conclusions : Higher levels of mindfulness may protect women from psychological and cancer-related symptoms typically associated with the stigmatizing experience of a lung cancer diagnosis. Yet, longitudinal studies and randomized controlled designs are needed to identify mindfulness as a causal protective factor.