High-level construal benefits, meaning making, and posttraumatic growth in cancer patients.
The present study sought to explore the role of meaning making and high-level construal in the relationship between meaning discrepancy and posttraumatic growth among Chinese cancer patients.



The participants were 193 individuals diagnosed with cancer. Meaning discrepancy, meaning making, high-level construal in meaning making, and posttraumatic growth were measured. Bootstrapping and structural equation modeling were performed to test the mediation effects of high-level construal on the meaning-making process.



Mediation analysis revealed that perceived discrepancies were associated with individuals' meaning-making efforts. Meaning-making efforts prompted participants to adopt a high-level construal orientation, which in turn enhanced posttraumatic growth.



Our study empirically tested construal level theory in a population suffering from severe chronic trauma. The results demonstrate the important role of high-level construal in the meaning-making process of cancer patients, suggesting a specific effective strategy to foster posttraumatic growth. It seems encouraging to indicate that adopting such high-level construal may be included as part of psychological interventions for cancer patients.
Department of Psychology,Peking University,Beijing,People's Republic of China.
Yu
Y
Wang
Department of Psychology,Peking University,Beijing,People's Republic of China.
Yiqun
Y
Gan
Department of Psychology,Peking University,Beijing,People's Republic of China.
Miao
M
Miao
Department of Psychology,Peking University,Beijing,People's Republic of China.
Qin
Q
Ke
Department of Oncology,Beijing Hospital,Beijing,People's Republic of China.
Wenju
W
Li
Department of Oncology,Beijing Hospital,Beijing,People's Republic of China.
Zijin
Z
Zhang
Department of Oncology,Beijing Hospital,Beijing,People's Republic of China.
Gang
G
Cheng
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000068476:Beijing; D002979:Climacteric / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Cancer; High-level construal; Meaning making; Posttraumatic growth