The effects of individual- and network-level factors on discussion of cancer experiences: Survivors of childhood cancer in Korea

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to identify young adult Korean cancer survivors' individual- (psychological distress, stigma, sociodemographic variables, and cancer-related variables) and network-level factors (relationship type, social support type) that influence discussion of their cancer experiences. Sixty-eight survivors of childhood cancer who were recruited using snowball sampling nominated 245 individuals from their networks, including family and intimate partners (40%) and friends and acquaintances (60%), as people with whom they most frequently interacted. Results of multilevel modeling analysis indicated that higher levels of internalized shame were a prominent individual-level factor associated with a lack of discussion of cancer experiences. Relationship type and support type at the network-level were also significant correlates of discussion of cancer experiences. Programs for reducing the survivors' shame, improving illness identity, and providing professional training for building social relationships that are intimate and in which they could exchange reciprocal support may help Korean childhood cancer survivors to openly share their cancer experiences with others in their social network and to be successful in the journey of cancer survivorship.

KEYWORDS:

• discussion of cancer experiences
• pediatric cancer survivors
• social network analysis
• South Korea
• stigma

Acknowledgments

This research was supported with funding from the Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation. This work was supported, in part, by an Academic Career Award from the NIH/NCI to Y.W. (K07CA196985). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Note

Notes

1. Hox, 2010 notes that the Wald Z will produce p-values that are unadjusted for the distributional properties of variances. Because negative variances are not permissible (thus removing half of the distribution), Hox recommends dividing the obtained p-value by 2 to obtain the appropriate one-tail significance, given the distributional properties. Accordingly, the presented p-value is one-tailed.

Additional information

Funding

NIH/NCI (K07CA196985)