Benefit Finding: The Mediator Linking Social Support to Self - Management Efficacy in Gynecological Cancer

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationships among benefit finding (BF), self-management efficacy, and social support in patients with gynecologic cancers. Methods: A total of 180 patients with gynecological cancer were selected using a convenience sampling methodology from Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Shenzhen, China. The data collection tools included sociodemographic and disease-related information, the Chinese Version of the Benefit Finding Scale (BFS), the Chinese Self-Management Efficacy Scale for Cancer Patients (C-SUPPH), and the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, and hierarchical multiple regression. The SPSS 29.0 and the PROCESS 4.2 macro were used to validate the mediating effects. Results: BF was positively correlated with social support ( r = 0.235, P < 0.01) and self-management efficacy ( r = 0.453, P < 0.01). Social support also showed a correlation with self-management efficacy ( r = 0.268, P < 0.01). BF partially mediated the relationship between social support and self-management efficacy, accounting for 36.28% of the total effect. Conclusion: Self-management efficacy in patients with gynecological cancers is at a moderate level. Social support indirectly influences self-management efficacy through BF. Enhancing BF could serve as an effective strategy to improve self-management efficacy in this patient population. Keywords: gynecological cancers, self-management efficacy, benefit finding, social support, mediation analysis