Spirituality as a Mediator Between Social Support and Benefit Finding Among Advanced Cancer Patients

Background Social support and benefit finding (BF) are important for cancer patients. The relationship between social support and BF has not been studied sufficiently in patients with advanced cancer, and the mechanism through which social support might influence BF is unclear. Objective This study aimed to investigate the relationship between social support and BF in Chinese patients with advanced cancer as mediated by their perceptions of spirituality. Methods This was a correlation study with a cross-sectional design. We recruited advanced-cancer patients (n = 208) from China. Patients’ sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were collected, and they were asked to complete the Benefit Finding Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Spiritual Attitude and Involvement List. Results Social support was associated with greater spirituality and greater BF ( P < .01). Spirituality was positively correlated with BF ( P < .01). Results from mediation analysis identified that both the indirect effect of social support on BF via spirituality (indirect effect, 0.268; 95% confidence interval, 0.147–0.419) and its direct effect on BF (direct effect, 0.233; 95% confidence interval, 0.031–0.429) were statistically significant, suggesting a partial mediatory effect of spirituality between social support and BF. Conclusions Our findings supported a positive association between social support and BF among Chinese advanced-cancer patients. The mediatory role of spirituality should provide a new perspective for augmentation of BF in these patients. Implications for Practice Interventions that help enhance social support and spirituality in patients with advanced cancer could facilitate their BF.