Post-traumatic growth and related factors among 1221 Chinese cancer survivors

There is an increasing number of studies on the post-traumatic growth (PTG) of cancer survivors worldwide. However, few Chinese studies have reported about PTG in cancer survivors because of the underdevelopment of community health services. This study aimed to evaluate the level of PTG in China and explore related factors among a large sample of survivors of more than 12 cancer types.

We recruited 1236 survivors from 14 sites of the Beijing Cancer Rehabilitation Association. Survivors completed standardized questionnaires assessing PTG, social support, coping styles, demographic characteristics, and clinical conditions. Multivariate linear regression was used to evaluate potential predictive factors of PTG.

A total of 1221 (98.7%) subjects completed the questionnaires. The average PTG score was 61.15 ± 20.26. Seven variables were included in the final regression model: social support, coping style, time after treatment, exercise, BMI, work status, and economic income (P < .05). Survivors who had low levels of social support, had negative coping strategies, had a time after treatment of less than 5 years, exercised irregularly, had an abnormal BMI, were unemployed, or had low economic income had lower PTG levels.

PTG levels among Chinese cancer survivors are associated with social support, coping style, time after treatment, exercise, BMI, work status, and economic income. Strategies tailored to Chinese survivors should be developed to promote their PTG and improve their physical and psychological well-being.