Pathways to post-traumatic growth in cancer patients: moderated mediation and single mediation analyses with resilience, personality, and coping strategies

Background Cancer diagnosis is a potentially traumatic experience, which could generate significant long-lasting emotional distress, but also positive changes linked to post-traumatic growth (PTG). This study aimed to analyze the role of resilience, coping, and personality in determining PTG or post-traumatic symptoms, and to test a moderated mediation model and a single mediation model in a sample of individuals diagnosed with cancer. Methods A sample of 154 individuals diagnosed with cancer (Mage = 51.4, SD = 11.25) completed the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory, Impact of Event Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Ten Item Personality Inventory, and Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced after providing written informed consent. Results Results showed that the impact of resilience in PTG is partially mediated by positive attitude, with a significant and negative moderating effect of openness on the relationship between resilience and positive attitude. Furthermore, resilience negatively predicted the impact of trauma, with a partial mediation of avoidance strategies. Limitations The cross-sectional nature of the study, the use of only self-report measures, heterogeneity of the sample, and the risk of influence of unobserved prognostic variables should be kept in mind while interpreting the results. Conclusions The findings showed that the level of resilience predicted PTG or post-traumatic symptoms, both directly and indirectly, with different coping strategies as mediators. Furthermore, the lower the level of openness reported by participants, the higher the resilience induced by positive attitude. These findings may significantly contribute toward tailoring interventions for improving the mental health of cancer patients.