TY - JOUR
T1 - Cancer Victim Identity for Individuals with Histories of Cancer and Childhood Sexual Abuse
AU - McDonnell, Glynnis A.
AU - Sucala, Madalina
AU - Goldsmith, Rachel E.
AU - Montgomery, Guy H.
AU - Schnur, Julie B.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding was provided by National Cancer Institute (Grant Nos. R21CA173163, R25 CA081137).
Funding Information:
Acknowledgements Funding was provided by National Cancer Institute (Grant Nos. R21CA173163, R25 CA081137).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media New York.
PY - 2017/12/1
Y1 - 2017/12/1
N2 - Identifying as a ‘cancer victim’ has been linked to adverse psychosocial sequelae in individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer. Being a childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivor may predispose individuals towards a “victim” identity in general. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of identifying as a ‘cancer victim’ among CSA survivors who were diagnosed with cancer as adults, and to explore psychological factors associated with identification as a cancer victim. 105 adults reporting both a history of CSA and of having been diagnosed with cancer as an adult were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Variables assessed included CSA severity, abuse-related powerlessness, general mastery, and cancer victim identity. Fifty-one percent of the sample endorsed a cancer victim identity. Path analysis revealed that abuse-related powerlessness was related to decreased feelings of general mastery, which was in turn associated with cancer victim identification (x2 = .12, DF = 1, p < .73; RMSEA = .00; SRMR = .01: Bentler CFI = 1.0). From a clinical perspective, the results suggest that increasing general mastery in CSA survivors in the cancer setting may be an important mechanism for attenuating the risk for developing a cancer victim identity and, presumably, for downstream adverse psychosocial sequelae.
AB - Identifying as a ‘cancer victim’ has been linked to adverse psychosocial sequelae in individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer. Being a childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivor may predispose individuals towards a “victim” identity in general. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of identifying as a ‘cancer victim’ among CSA survivors who were diagnosed with cancer as adults, and to explore psychological factors associated with identification as a cancer victim. 105 adults reporting both a history of CSA and of having been diagnosed with cancer as an adult were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Variables assessed included CSA severity, abuse-related powerlessness, general mastery, and cancer victim identity. Fifty-one percent of the sample endorsed a cancer victim identity. Path analysis revealed that abuse-related powerlessness was related to decreased feelings of general mastery, which was in turn associated with cancer victim identification (x2 = .12, DF = 1, p < .73; RMSEA = .00; SRMR = .01: Bentler CFI = 1.0). From a clinical perspective, the results suggest that increasing general mastery in CSA survivors in the cancer setting may be an important mechanism for attenuating the risk for developing a cancer victim identity and, presumably, for downstream adverse psychosocial sequelae.
KW - Identity
KW - Mastery
KW - Oncology
KW - Sexual abuse survivors
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85014212102&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10942-017-0268-0
DO - 10.1007/s10942-017-0268-0
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85014212102
SN - 0894-9085
VL - 35
SP - 402
EP - 412
JO - Journal of Rational - Emotive and Cognitive - Behavior Therapy
JF - Journal of Rational - Emotive and Cognitive - Behavior Therapy
IS - 4
ER -