The impact of illness perception on self-transcendence in gastric cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: the chain mediating effect of hope levels and coping styles.
Frontiers in Psychiatry January 1, 2025 Qin Wang, Guoqin Ren, Li Sun et al.
Among 507 gastric cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in a Chinese hospital, illness perception directly and indirectly influences self-transcendence through hope levels and coping styles. Patients' average illness perception score was 42.79, hope levels 34.10, confrontation coping 24.50, avoidance 20.69, yield 14.70, and self-transcendence 44.08. A random forest model ranked illness perception as most important, followed by avoidance, confrontation, hope levels, self-rated health, and yield. Mediation analysis showed illness perception had a direct effect on self-transcendence (about 55% across coping dimensions), with hope levels mediating about 31%, coping styles about 7%, and a chain mediation of hope and coping about 6%.