Benefits of a Psychosocial Intervention on Positive Affect and Posttraumatic Growth for Chinese American Breast Cancer Survivors: A Pilot Study

Abstract Breast cancer survivors report persistent psychological and physical symptoms, which affect their quality of life and may challenge the recovery process. Due to social, cultural, and linguistic barriers, culturally sensitive care is largely unavailable for Chinese Americans, and their psychological needs are not often addressed. We aimed to investigate whether the Joy Luck Academy (JLA), a psychosocial intervention providing both information and peer support, was associated with positive adjustment among Chinese American breast cancer survivors. Thirty-nine Chinese American breast cancer survivors participated in a pilot psychosocial intervention. The educational materials and lectures were delivered in the participants’ native language of Chinese. All of the educators and mentors shared the same linguistic and cultural background with the participants. The program utilized a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to further enhance the cultural sensitivity of the intervention. Participants’ post-traumatic growth and positive affect were assessed before and after the intervention. The JLA showed an improvement in positive affect, and they had a greater appreciation for life. The intervention was found to be feasible, well-accepted, and beneficial for this population. Chinese American breast cancer survivors reported improved psychological health after attending the intervention. These findings encourage the development and implementation of psychosocial interventions for Chinese breast cancer survivors. Similar programs could be integrated into other ethnic or cultural communities.

• Publication year

  2020

• Venue

  Behavioral Medicine

• Publication date

  2020-01-02

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Psychology

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1080/08964289.2018.1541862PMID 30657442PMCID PMC6639149
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Exploring the Social Needs and Challenges of Chinese American Immigrant Breast Cancer Survivors: a Qualitative Study Using an Expressive Writing Approach

  2017cited by this paper
• Perceived stress as a mediator between social constraints and sleep quality among Chinese American breast cancer survivors

  2017cited by this paper
• Comparison of Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling

  2016influential reference
• Interventions to Improve Quality of Life, Well-Being, and Care in Latino Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Literature Review.

  2016cited by this paper
• Using expressive writing to explore thoughts and beliefs about cancer and treatment among Chinese American immigrant breast cancer survivors

  2016cited by this paper
• Perceived Stress as a Mediator Between Social Support and Posttraumatic Growth Among Chinese American Breast Cancer Survivors

  2016cited by this paper
• Breast cancer experience and survivorship among Asian Americans: a systematic review

  2014cited by this paper
• Social constraints and quality of life among chinese-speaking breast cancer survivors: a mediation model

  2014cited by this paper
• Affect mediates the association between mental adjustment styles and quality of life among Chinese cancer survivors

  2014cited by this paper
• Sources of social support and adjustment among Chinese cancer survivors: gender and age differences

  2014cited by this paper
• Evaluating a culturally tailored peer-mentoring and education pilot intervention among Chinese breast cancer survivors using a mixed-methods approach.

  2014cited by this paper
• Social support and quality of life among Chinese breast cancer survivors: findings from a mixed methods study.

  2013cited by this paper
• Challenges and Needs of Chinese and Korean American Breast Cancer Survivors: In-Depth Interviews.

  2013cited by this paper
• Randomized controlled trial of a clinic-based survivorship intervention following adjuvant therapy in breast cancer survivors

  2013cited by this paper
• A pilot study of expressive writing intervention among Chinese-speaking breast cancer survivors.

  2012cited by this paper
• One-year follow-up of collaborative depression care for low-income, predominantly Hispanic patients with cancer.

  2011cited by this paper
• The psychosocial issues of survivorship in breast cancer

  2010cited by this paper
• Hidden breast cancer disparities in Asian women: disaggregating incidence rates by ethnicity and migrant status.

  2010cited by this paper
• Individual differences in well-being in older breast cancer survivors.

  2007cited by this paper
• Overview of Peer Support Models to Improve Diabetes Self-Management and Clinical Outcomes

  2007cited by this paper
• Psychosocial responses in breast cancer survivors.

  2007cited by this paper
• Development and Validation of an Internationally Reliable Short-Form of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS)

  2007cited by this paper
• Contextual life stress and coping strategies as predictors of adjustment to breast cancer survivorship

  2006cited by this paper
• Psychosocial concerns and interventions for cancer survivors.

  2006cited by this paper
• Social networks, social support, and survival after breast cancer diagnosis.

  2006cited by this paper
• Handbook of posttraumatic growth : research and practice

  2006cited by this paper
• Interventions to enhance physical and psychological functioning among younger women who are ending nonhormonal adjuvant treatment for early-stage breast cancer.

  2005influential reference
• Finding benefit in breast cancer: Relations with personality, coping, and concurrent well-being

  2005cited by this paper
• Understanding quality-of-life issues in Chinese women with breast cancer: a qualitative investigation.

  2005influential reference
• TARGET ARTICLE: "Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundations and Empirical Evidence"

  2004cited by this paper
• Understanding the breast cancer experience of Asian American women

  2003cited by this paper
• Applicability of the Positive and Negative Affect Scale in Chinese

  2003cited by this paper
• Psychological adjustment among African American breast cancer patients: one-year follow-up results of a randomized psychoeducational group intervention.

  2003cited by this paper
• The evolving experience of illness for Chinese women with breast cancer: A qualitative study

  2003cited by this paper
• Effects of psychosocial interventions on quality of life in adult cancer patients: meta analysis of 37 published controlled outcome studies.

  2003cited by this paper
• Social support interventions: do they work?

  2002cited by this paper
• Long-term effects of educational and peer discussion group interventions on adjustment to breast cancer.

  2001cited by this paper
• The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions.

  2001cited by this paper
• Group support interventions for women with breast cancer: who benefits from what?

  2000cited by this paper
• Education and peer discussion group interventions and adjustment to breast cancer.

  1999influential reference
• Review of community-based research: assessing partnership approaches to improve public health.

  1998cited by this paper
• Statistical Significance Testing and Cumulative Knowledge in Psychology: Implications for Training of Researchers

  1996cited by this paper
• The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma

  1996cited by this paper

• Can mindfulness facilitate posttraumatic growth in breast cancer patients? The mediating role of illness perceptions and positive emotions

  2024cites this paper
• Characteristics of positive and negative effects on the quality of life of breast cancer patients

  2024cites this paper
• Developing the Meaning-Centered Program for Chinese Americans with Advanced Cancer: Applying Cultural Adaptation Frameworks.

  2024cites this paper
• A Systematic Review of the Impact of Cancer Survivorship Interventions With Asian American Cancer Survivors.

  2023cites this paper
• The Characteristics of Asian American Breast Cancer Survivors with Low Quality of Life: a Decision Tree Analysis

  2023cites this paper
• Psychometric Properties of the Positive and Negative Experiences Scale (SPANE) in Colombian Adolescent Offenders

  2023cites this paper
• Post-traumatic stress symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder, and post-traumatic growth among cancer survivors: a systematic scoping review of interventions

  2023cites this paper
• Pandemic-related posttraumatic psychological growth in U.S. military veterans: A 3-year, nationally representative, longitudinal study.

  2023cites this paper
• Cancer survivorship programs for patients from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds: a scoping review

  2023cites this paper
• Effectiveness of telemedicine-based psychosocial intervention for breast cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

  2023cites this paper
• Psychosocial interventions on the posttraumatic growth of adults with cancer: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of clinical trials

  2023cites this paper
• A scoping review of psychosocial oncology interventions promoting posttraumatic growth

  2022influential citation
• RETRACTED: Post-Traumatic Growth and Quality of Life among World Trade Center Health Registry Enrollees 16 Years after 9/11

  2022influential citation
• Effects of nurse-led supportive-expressive group intervention for post-traumatic growth among breast cancer survivors: A randomized clinical trial.

  2021cites this paper
• Culture in Cancer Survivorship Interventions for Asian Americans: A Systematic Review and Critical Analyses.

  2021influential citation
• A Culturally Sensitive Social Support Intervention for Chinese American Breast Cancer Survivors (Joy Luck Academy): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

  2021cites this paper
• The role of acculturation in the relationship between self-stigma and psychological distress among Chinese American breast cancer survivors

  2020cites this paper
• World Trade Center Exposure and Posttraumatic Growth: Assessing Positive Psychological Change 15 Years after 9/11

  2020cites this paper
• Aspek Psikologis pada Layanan Keperawatan Pasien Kanker Payudara: A Systematic Review

  2020influential citation
• Effects of the guided disclosure protocol on post-traumatic growth: A randomized control trial designed to observe psychophysiological alterations in traumatic stress subjects

  2019cites this paper
• Effect of Psychological First Aid Intervention Program on Post-traumatic Growth among Recently Diagnosed Cancer Patients

  year unknowncites this paper