The mediating roles of family care and self-efficacy between stigma and social alienation among colorectal cancer survivors

To investigate the mediating role of family care and self-efficacy between stigma and social alienation among colorectal cancer survivors. In a cross-sectional study, 357 colorectal cancer survivors were recruited in northern China. The General Alienation Scale, Social Impact Scale, Family Care Index Questionnaire, and General Self-efficacy Scale were used to conduct the survey, and the mediation model was constructed and tested. Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS 25.0 software. Colorectal cancer survivors' social alienation was positively correlated with stigma (r = .481), and negatively correlated with family care (r = -.514)、and self-efficacy (r = -.506). Family care and self-efficacy both partially mediated the relationship between stigma and social alienation, with mediator effect values of 0.10 and 0.12, and the two consecutive paths were chained together, with a mediator effect of 0.02. Colorectal cancer survivors' stigma and social alienation are at a moderate level, and the stigma can directly and indirectly contribute to social alienation through family care and self-efficacy. Healthcare professionals can take targeted interventions to improve patients' family care and self-efficacy and reduce their social alienation, to promote the social integration of colorectal cancer survivors and improve the quality of life.