role of identity in posttraumatic growth and psychological adjustment for adults with cancer

This mixed methods sequential research study was performed to explore the role of identity in posttraumatic growth and psychological adjustment for adults with cancer. One hundred nineteen individuals participated in an online survey which included items from Brief COPE, Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer (Mini-MAC), Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ), Sense of Coherence Scale - 3 items (SOC-3), Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), Illness Intrusiveness Ratings Scale (IIRS), and Centrality of Event Scale (CES). A two-step cluster analysis divided the sample into two clusters based on the integration of cancer into identity: High Cancer Identity Cluster (cancer identity scores above M) with strong cancer identity and Low Cancer Identity Cluster (scores below the M) with a weak or absent cancer identity. HCIC yielded positive and negative subgroups. A discriminant analysis revealed which variables are significant predictors of group membership: PTG factor New Possibilities (Wilks'l = .781, F (1, 119) = 32.834, p = .000), Psychological Adjustment factor Anxious Preoccupation (Wilks' l= .863, F (1, 119) = 18.612, p = .000), Illness Intrusiveness factor Intimate Relationships (Wilks' l= .794, F (1, 119) = 30.348, p = .000), and Illness Perception factor Perceived Life Impact of Cancer (Wilks' l= .783, F (1, 119) = 32.412, p = .000). From the sample, 17 individuals and spouses/partners were interviewed to obtain a deeper understanding of the lived experience of cancer. Qualitative themes of suffering, woundedness, and uncertainty were found. Narrative data corroborated the quantitative data and contributed depth to the analysis. A new Cancer Identity Process Model was offered in which assimilative and accommodative efforts are informed by identity structures.