title: Cancer survivor identity shared in a social media intervention.
abstract: This study investigates how cancer survivors construct their identities and the impact on their psychological health, as measured by depression and survivor self-efficacy. Fourteen young adult survivors of pediatric cancer participated in a customized social networking and video blog intervention program, the LIFECommunity, over a 6-month period. Survivors were asked to share their stories on various topics by posting video messages. Those video blog postings, along with survey data collected from participants, were analyzed to see how cancer survivors expressed their identities, and how these identities are associated with survivors' psychosocial outcomes. In survivors who held negative stereotypes about cancer survivors, there was a positive relationship with depression while positive stereotypes had a marginal association with cancer survivor efficacy. Findings indicate that although pediatric cancer survivors often do not publicly discuss a "cancer survivor identity," they do internalize both positive and negative stereotypes about cancer survivorship. It is important for practitioners to be aware of the long-term implications of cancer survivor identity and stereotypes.
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA. hayeon.song@gmail.com
authors.forename: Hayeon
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Yujung
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gould
authors.forename: W Scott
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McLaughlin
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fulk
authors.forename: Kathleen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Meeske
authors.forename: Kathleen S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Ruccione
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D015141:Los Angeles; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D010372:Pediatrics; D011287:Prejudice; D011594:Psychometrics; D012042:Registries; D012933:Social Identification; D061108:Social Media; D012938:Social Perception; D012944:Social Support; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D014743:Videotape Recording; D055815:Young Adult