The Relation of Ideology of Positive Thinking with the Perception of Cancer Risk and Ways of Treating It in Medellin, Colombia

Figures & data

Table 1 Description of the Psychometric Properties of the of the Instrument

Negative Emotions Related to the Etiology of Cancer	Lambdas	Item-Domain Correlation	Cancer as an Event with Redemptive Power	Effect of PTI in Treatment
Holding anger, resentment, hatred toward others	0.637	0.692**	0.128**	0.329**
Going through painful experiences, such as grieving the death of a loved one	0.865	0.831**	0.054	0.256**
Dealing with personal or professional disappointments	0.883	0.851**	0.026	0.225**
Not expressing emotions properly	0.742	0.738**	0.000	0.207**
Content validity success %	100% (4/4)
Internal consistency success %	100% (4/4)
Discriminating power success %	100% (8/8)
Cronbach’s Alpha	0.789
Cancer as an Event with Redemptive Power	Lambdas	Item-Domain Correlation	Negative Emotions in the Etiology	Effect of Positive Thinking Ideology in Treatment
Cancer is an opportunity to change bad habits and behaviors	0.659	0.668**	0.133**	0.381**
Cancer is a test from God	0.614	0.613**	0.046	0.259**
Cancer is a battle that the best warriors win	0.679	0.701**	−0.028	0.383**
Cancer is a lesson for patients	0.792	0.776**	0.034	0.384**
Cancer is an opportunity to be a better person	0.790	0.776**	0.123**	0.385**
Content validity success %	100% (5/5)
Internal consistency success %	100% (5/5)
Discriminating power success %	100% (10/10)
Cronbach’s Alpha	0.751
Relation of PTI with Cancer Treatment	Lambdas	Item-Domain Correlation	Risk of Negative Emotions in the Etiology	Cancer as an Event with Redemptive Power
Express emotions better (eg, do not keep quiet, express what you feel, etc.)	0.690	0.674**	0.407**	0.312**
Mind reprogramming	0.597	0.642**	0.223**	0.324**
Positive thoughts and attitude	0.800	0.726**	0.142**	0.407**
Forgive those who hurt you (eg, let go of resentment and anger)	0.713	0.731**	0.380**	0.377**
Face the illness with a fighting spirit	0.723	0.641**	0.091*	0.393**
Avoid negative feelings and seek happiness	0.789	0.715**	0.155**	0.427**
Content validity success %	100% (6/6)
Internal consistency success %	100% (6/6)
Discriminating power success %	100% (12/12)
Cronbach’s Alpha	0.809

Note: *P<0.05, **P<0.01.

Table 2 Sociodemographic and Economic Characteristics and History of Cancer in the Study Group

	Median		IQR
Age	32		24–48
	N	%	CI 95%
Age group
18–26 years old	189	30.9	27.4–34.7
27–59 years old	343	56.1	52.2–60.0
60 years or older	79	12.9	10.4–15.8
Sex
Female	312	51.1	47.1–55.0
Male	299	48.9	45.0–52.9
Education level
Primary school	79	12.9	10.4–15.8
Secondary school	213	34.9	31.2–38.7
Technical-technological	95	15.5	12.8–18.6
University	224	36.7	32.9–40.5
Occupation
Unemployed	70	11.7	9.3–14.4
Home care	62	10.4	8.1–13.0
Student	127	21.2	18.1–24.6
Worker	318	53.1	49.1–57.1
Retired	22	3.7	2.4–5.4
Other characteristics
Training in health-care areas	93	15.2	12.5–18.2
Considers oneself poor	166	27.2	23.8–30.8
Reads self-help books	210	34.4	30.7–38.2
Personal or family history of cancer	389	63.7	59.8–67.4

Abbreviations: N, absolute frequency; CI, confidence interval; IQR, Interquartile range.

Figure 1 Response to the items concerning the risk of negative emotions on the etiology of cancer.

Figure 2 Response to items for the construct of cancer as an event with redemptive power.

Figure 3 Response to the items of the construct on the effect of the ideology of positive thinking in the treatment of cancer.

Table 3 Variables That are Associated with PTI in Cancer

	Risk of Negative Emotions in the Etiology of Cancer	Cancer as an Event with Redemptive Power	Effect of Positive Thinking Ideology in Treatment
	Me (IQR)	Me (IQR)	Me (IQR)
Age group
18–26 years old	33.3 (0.0–50.0)	40.0 (20.0–66.7)	55.6 (33.3–72.2)
27–59 years old	41.7(16.7–66.7)	46.7 (33.3–73.3)	66.7 (44.4–83.3)
60 years or older	50.0(25.0–75.0)	60.0 (40.0–80.0)	72.2 (55.6–88.9)
P-value	0.001	<0.001	<0.001
Sex
Female	41.7(25.0–66.7)	46.7 (30.0–66.7)	61.1 (41.7–83.3)
Male	33.3(0.0–58.3)	53.3 (26.7–73.3)	66.7 (38.9–83.3)
P-value	<0.001	0.324	0.938
Education level
Primary school	50.0(16.7–75.0)	73.3 (46.7–86.7)	72.2 (55.6–88.9)
Secondary school	25.0(0.0–50.0)	60.0 (33.3–80.0)	66.7 (44.4–83.3)
Technical-technological	33.3(16.7–58.3)	53.3 (33.3–80.0)	66.7 (50.0–77.8)
University	41.7(25.0–66.7)	40.0 (20.0–53.3)	55.6 (33.3–72.2)
P-value	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001
Occupation
Unemployed	37.5(16.7–66.7)	60.0 (40.0–80.0)	66.7 (44.4–83.3)
Home care	41.7(16.7–75.0)	60.0 (40.0–80.0)	66.7 (50.0–83.3)
Student	33.3(0.0–50.0)	33.3 (13.3–53.3)	50.0 (27.8–66.7)
Worker	41.7(16.7–66.7)	53.3 (33.3–73.3)	66.7 (44.4–83.3)
Retired	29.2(16.7–58.3)	53.3 (40.0–80.0)	58.3 (33.3–88.9)
P-value	0.103	<0.001	<0.001
Training in a healthcare field
No	33.3(16.7–58.3)	53.3 (33.3–73.3)	66.7 (44.4–83.3)
Yes	41.7(25.0–66.7)	40.0 (26.7–53.3)	55.6 (33.3–72.2)
P-value	0.103	<0.001	0.016
Perception of being poor
No	33.3(16.7–58.3)	40.0 (26.7–66.7)	61.1 (38.9–77.8)
Yes	41.7(16.7–66.7)	60.0 (40.0–80.0)	66.7 (50.0–88.9)
P-value	0.240	<0.001	0.002
Reading self-help books
No	33.3(8.3–58.3)	53.3 (26.7–73.3)	61.1 (33.3–77.8)
Yes	50.0(25.0–66.7)	46.7 (33.3–66.7)	66.7 (50.0–83.3)
P-value	<0.001	0.346	0.008
Personal or family history of cancer
No	33.3(0.0–58.3)	46.7 (26.7–66.7)	61.1 (38.9–77.8)
Yes	41.7(25.0–66.7)	53.3 (33.3–73.3)	66.7 (38.9–83.3)
P-value	0.001	0.314	0.181

Abbreviations: Me, median; IQR, Interquartile range.

Figure 4 Structural equation model for the three constructs of the PTI in cancer. The p-values of all the data are <0.001.