The Mediating Roles of Self-Disclosure and Social Support in the Relationship Between Self-Perceived Burden and Benefit Finding Among Postoperative Colorectal Cancer Patients

Q: What is the study aim regarding self-perceived burden and benefit finding?

To examine the mediating roles of social support and self-disclosure in the relationship between self-perceived burden and benefit finding among postoperative colorectal cancer patients, supporting nursing practice.

Q: How was the study conducted and what sample was used?

A cross-sectional descriptive design recruited 165 postoperative colorectal cancer patients from a Class III Grade A hospital in China using convenience sampling from November 2023 to June 2024.

Q: What mediation pathways were found between self-perceived burden and benefit finding?

Self-perceived burden related to benefit finding through social support mediation (−0.193, 28.2%), self-disclosure mediation (−0.153, 22.3%), and a chain mediation of social support and self-disclosure (−0.049, 7.1%).

Q: What nursing practice implications are suggested by the results?

Incorporate assessment of self-perceived burden into routine postoperative nursing and investigate interventions that enhance social support and encourage self-disclosure to promote higher benefit finding.

Sep 22, 2026

Upload by Mary Man

Aim: explore how social support and self-disclosure mediate the association between self-perceived burden and benefit finding in postoperative colorectal cancer patients, providing evidence to guide nursing practice. Design: cross-sectional descriptive study. Methods: convenience-sampled 165 postoperative patients (Nov 2023–Jun 2024) using Benefit Finding, Self-Perceived Burden, Social Support Rating, and Distress Disclosure indices; conduct correlations and mediation tests. Results: burden inversely relates to benefit finding and supports disclosure/social support positively, with three mediating pathways. Implications: assess burden routinely and consider interventions enhancing social support and disclosure.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Aim

Design

Methods

Results

Implications for Nursing Practice

Introduction

Theoretical Framework

Nursing Open |
The Mediating Roles of Self-Disclosure and Social Support in the Relationship Between Self-Perceived Burden and Benefit Finding Among Postoperative Colorectal Cancer Patients
Yi Long Zhou1 | Ya Jing Wang2 | Jing Jing Guo3 | Jia Wen1 | Hui Fang Guo1
1Department of Nursing, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China | 2Urology Department, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China | 3Department of Nursing, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Correspondence: Hui Fang Guo ([guohuifang1223@163.com](guohuifang1223@163.com))
Received: 31 January 2025 | Revised: 18 June 2026 | Accepted: 22 June 2026
Keywords: benefit finding | colorectal cancer | mediating effect | self-disclosure | self-perceived burden | | | --- | --- | | ABSTRACT
Aim: To explore the mediating roles of social support and self-disclosure in the association between self-perceived burden and benefit finding among postoperative colorectal cancer patients and to provide evidence that may inform nursing practice.
Design: A cross-sectional descriptive study.
Methods: From November 2023 to June 2024, 165 patients who had undergone colorectal cancer surgery were recruited from a Class III Grade A hospital in China using convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Benefit Finding Scale, SelfPerceived Burden Scale, Social Support Rating Scale, and The Distress Disclosure Index Scale. Correlation analysis and mediation effect tests were conducted.
Results: Benefit finding was negatively correlated with self-perceived burden (r = −0.687, p < 0.01) and positively correlated with self-disclosure and social support (r =0.712, 0.696, p < 0.01) . Self-perceived burden is associated with benefit finding through three mediating pathways: the mediating effect of social support was −0.193 (28.2% of the total effect); the mediating effect of self-disclosure was −0.153 (22.3%); and the chain mediating effect of social support and self-disclosure was −0.049 (7.1%) . Patient or Public Contribution: No Patient or Public Contribution.
Implications for Nursing Practice: This study suggests that assessment of self-perceived burden may be considered as part of routine nursing assessment for postoperative colorectal cancer patients. Interventions aimed at enhancing social support and encouraging self-disclosure may be worthy of further investigation, as these factors were associated with higher levels of benefit finding in this study. | | | 1 | Introduction | constituting 9.2% of all cancer mortalities (Sung et al. 2021). Currently, radical surgery is one of the most efficacious clinical | | Colorectal cancer is a leading gastrointestinal malignancy world- | treatments for colorectal cancer. By excising the cancerous part | | wide, ranking third in cancer incidence and second in mortality. | and clearing the regional lymph nodes, it can effectively con- | | There are approximately 1.88 million new cases annually, account- | trol the proliferation and differentiation of tumour cells, reduce | | ing for 9.8% of all cancer incidences, and around 910,000 deaths, | the risks of recurrence and metastasis, and improve the overall | | Yi Long Zhou and Ya Jing Wang contributed equally to this work and are co-first authors. | | | This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
© 2026 The Author(s). Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. | | Nursing Open, 2026; 13:e70672 1 of 10 [https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.70672](https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.70672) survival rate of patients (Jin et al. 2020; Wang, Ding, et al. 2022). However, postoperative colorectal cancer patients often encounter numerous problems such as an excessive self-perceiv

FAQs

What is the study aim regarding self-perceived burden and benefit finding?

To examine the mediating roles of social support and self-disclosure in the relationship between self-perceived burden and benefit finding among postoperative colorectal cancer patients, supporting nursing practice.

How was the study conducted and what sample was used?

A cross-sectional descriptive design recruited 165 postoperative colorectal cancer patients from a Class III Grade A hospital in China using convenience sampling from November 2023 to June 2024.

What mediation pathways were found between self-perceived burden and benefit finding?

Self-perceived burden related to benefit finding through social support mediation (−0.193, 28.2%), self-disclosure mediation (−0.153, 22.3%), and a chain mediation of social support and self-disclosure (−0.049, 7.1%).

What nursing practice implications are suggested by the results?

Incorporate assessment of self-perceived burden into routine postoperative nursing and investigate interventions that enhance social support and encourage self-disclosure to promote higher benefit finding.

Sep 22, 2026

Upload by Mary Man