Miles Anne, Voorwinden Sanne, Chapman Sarah, Wardle Jane
Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, Gower Street, London, United Kingdom W1CE 6BT.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008 Aug;17(8):1872-9. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-08-0074.
Little is known about the correlates of cancer information avoidance and whether people with negative feelings and beliefs about cancer are more likely to avoid cancer information, allowing such thoughts and feelings to persist unchallenged. Using the Extended Parallel Processing Model as a theoretical guide, we tested the hypothesis that cancer fear and fatalism would predict cancer information avoidance but that part of this effect would be mediated via cancer-specific threat and efficacy beliefs. A community sample of older adults, ages 50 to 70 years (n = 1,442), completed a postal questionnaire that included the Powe Fatalism Inventory and the Champion Cancer Fear scale along with other measures of cancer-specific beliefs and demographic variables. Higher levels of cancer fear were positively associated with higher levels of cancer information avoidance, and part of this relationship was mediated via perceived cancer severity. The relationship between cancer fatalism and cancer information avoidance was partly mediated by severity and response-efficacy beliefs. This research shows that people with negative views about cancer are more likely to avoid cancer information. This means people with higher levels of cancer fear and fatalism are less likely to learn about positive developments made in the field of cancer control, allowing such negative feelings and views to continue. Research needs to focus on how to get positive messages about improvements in cancer prevention and control through to people who are fearful of and fatalistic about the disease.
对于癌症信息回避的相关因素，以及对癌症持有负面情绪和信念的人是否更有可能回避癌症信息，从而使这些想法和情绪在不受质疑的情况下持续存在，我们所知甚少。以扩展平行加工模型作为理论指导，我们检验了以下假设：癌症恐惧和宿命论会预测癌症信息回避，但这种影响的一部分将通过特定于癌症的威胁和效能信念来介导。一个年龄在50至70岁之间的老年人社区样本（n = 1442）完成了一份邮寄问卷，其中包括鲍伊宿命论量表、冠军癌症恐惧量表以及其他关于特定于癌症的信念和人口统计学变量的测量。更高水平的癌症恐惧与更高水平的癌症信息回避呈正相关，并且这种关系的一部分是通过感知到的癌症严重程度来介导的。癌症宿命论与癌症信息回避之间的关系部分是由严重程度和反应效能信念介导的。这项研究表明，对癌症持有负面看法的人更有可能回避癌症信息。这意味着癌症恐惧和宿命论水平较高的人了解癌症控制领域积极进展的可能性较小，从而使这种负面情绪和观点持续存在。研究需要关注如何将关于癌症预防和控制改善的积极信息传达给那些对该疾病感到恐惧和宿命论的人。
