title: "The uncertainty is what is driving me crazy": the tripartite model of uncertainty in the adolescent and young adult cancer context.
abstract: Building on scholarship indicating that uncertainty is a fundamental component of the cancer experience, this study focuses on an understudied population: adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer. Because AYAs' health outcomes lag behind those of older and younger people with cancer, scholars have recommended that the subjective experiences of AYAs be better understood. Using the tripartite model of uncertainty sources as a guiding framework, we analyzed naturally occurring messages from an online discussion forum for AYA cancer survivors. The majority of messages communicating uncertainty expressed medical uncertainty regarding the complexities of understanding treatment options and sequelae. Results indicated that several overarching areas of AYA uncertainty correspond to themes reported by other cancer populations, but that some distinctive concerns arise amid the normative complexities of late adolescence and young adulthood.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication Studies, Moody College of Communication , University of Texas at Austin.
authors.forename: Erin E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Donovan
authors.forename: Laura E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Leah
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: LeFebvre
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tardif
authors.forename: Brad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Love
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D006801:Humans; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D035501:Uncertainty; D055815:Young Adult