PURPOSE

This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the level of psychosocial adjustment among young and middle-aged patients with lung cancer, explore the influencing factors of psychosocial adjustment, and identify the mediating role of resilience between stigma and psychosocial adjustment.

METHODS

Between October 2022 and October 2023, data were collected using a self-designed demographic and disease-related questionnaire, the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale-Self-Report (PAIS-SR), Social Impact Scale (SIS), and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). The sample comprised 245 patients with lung cancer recruited from a tertiary grade A cancer center in southern China. To analyze the data, hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used, and the mediation Model 4 of the PROCESS macro in SPSS was implemented.

RESULTS

Participants (42.9%) had moderate or severe psychosocial maladjustment. Financial stress, cancer stage, time since treatment completion, dyspnea, stigma, and resilience were included in the final regression model and explained 46.2% of the variance of psychosocial adjustment. 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.

CONCLUSIONS

Stigma had a negative impact on psychosocial adjustment among young and middle-aged lung cancer patients, while resilience had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between stigma and psychosocial adjustment.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

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.