Purpose: Many cancer survivors experience psychological distress at some point during their care. The degree to which individuals perceive negative consequences of cancer has been associated with psychological distress, including anxiety and depression. Identifying psychosocial factors that buffer the effects of illness perceptions on distress may provide a target for intervention to improve the psychological health of cancer survivors. As such, the present study aimed to examine whether social support moderates the relationship between perceived negative consequences of cancer and psychological distress.
Methods: The current longitudinal study of 413 cancer survivors (64% female, 58% breast cancer, Mage = 59.68, SD = 11.41) examined social support as a potential moderator of the relationship, hypothesizing that greater overall perceived social support would buffer the relationship between perceived negative consequences of cancer and subsequent symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Results: Perceived negative consequences of cancer predicted anxiety and depression over time (p < .05), but social support had a buffering effect on the perceived negative consequences of cancer-anxiety relationship (β = - .20, p < .001) as well as the perceived negative consequences of cancer-depression relationship (β = - .11, p < .05).
Conclusion: Results suggest that social support is a protective factor over time against the pathway of illness perceptions leading to psychological distress among cancer survivors.
Implications for cancer survivors: Interventions that improve social support in cancer survivors may attenuate psychological distress and help support these individuals in their survivorship journey.
Keywords: Anxiety; Cancer survivors; Depression; Illness perceptions; Psychological distress; Social support.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.