title: Do stigma and its psychosocial impact differ between Asian-born Chinese immigrants and Western-born Caucasians with head and neck cancer?
abstract: Stigma appears to influence emotional distress and well-being in cancer survivors, but cross-cultural differences have been ignored. Previous studies suggest that stigma may be especially relevant for survivors of Asian origin. However, their study designs (e.g. focused on female cancers, qualitative designs, and an absence of comparison groups) limit the strength of this conclusion. We hypothesized that (1) Asian-born Chinese immigrants (AI) would report more perceived cancer-related stigma than Western-born Caucasians (WBC); and (2) the impact of stigma on emotional distress and well-being would be greater in AI as compared to WBC. Head and neck cancer survivors (n = 118 AI and n = 404 WBC) completed measures of well-being, emotional distress, and a three-item indicator of stigma in structured interviews. The majority of respondents (59%) reported one or more indicators of stigma. Stigma correlated significantly with emotional distress (r = .13, p = .004) and well-being (r = -.09, p = .032). Contrary to our hypotheses, WBCs and AIs did not differ in reported stigma nor did we detect differences in its psychosocial impact. Stigma exerts a deleterious psychosocial impact on head and neck cancer survivors. It did not differ significantly between AI and WBC survivors.
authors: a School of Psychology , University of Ottawa , Ottawa , ON , Canada.
authors: Sophie
authors: S
authors: Lebel
authors: b Cardiac eHealth & Behavioural Cardiology , Peter Munk Cardiac Centre , Toronto , ON , Canada.|c Department of Psychiatry , University of Toronto , Toronto , ON , Canada.
authors: Ada Y M
authors: AY
authors: Payne
authors: d Behavioural Sciences and Health Research Division , Toronto General Hospital , Toronto , ON , Canada.
authors: Kenneth
authors: K
authors: Mah
authors: e Cancer Clinical Research Unit (CCRU) , Princess Margaret Cancer Centre , Toronto , ON , Canada.
authors: Jonathan
authors: J
authors: Irish
authors: c Department of Psychiatry , University of Toronto , Toronto , ON , Canada.|f Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care , Princess Margaret Hospital , Toronto , ON , Canada.|g Department of Supportive Care , Ontario Cancer Institute , Toronto , ON , Canada.
authors: Gary
authors: G
authors: Rodin
authors: c Department of Psychiatry , University of Toronto , Toronto , ON , Canada.|d Behavioural Sciences and Health Research Division , Toronto General Hospital , Toronto , ON , Canada.|f Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care , Princess Margaret Hospital , Toronto , ON , Canada.|g Department of Supportive Care , Ontario Cancer Institute , Toronto , ON , Canada.
authors: Gerald M
authors: GM
authors: Devins
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D002170:Canada; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000523:psychology; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057545:Social Stigma; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Asian culture; Head and neck cancer; cross-cultural differences; emotional distress; stigma; well-being