Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-15-2024

Publication Title

Psycho-Oncology

Abstract

Objective: To test whether a personality feedback intervention improves three domains of cancer self-management: self-awareness, self-efficacy, and positive affect. Methods: From 11/2020-02/2021, 372 adults diagnosed with cancer participated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an intervention that entailed reading a brief personality-related excerpt during an online survey. Eligibility included self-reported age ≥ 18 years, current or past cancer diagnosis, and ability to read English. The survey included a baseline assessment with a personality questionnaire, then randomized participants to one of two groups. The intervention group (n = 184) received a personality feedback report with tailored self-care tips, whereas the control group (n = 188) received a generic reading on personality theory. At the end of the survey, participants completed outcome measures of self-awareness (primary), self-efficacy for illness management, and positive affect. General linear models tested between-group differences in changes from baseline to post-test on each outcome. Results: There was no intervention effect on self-awareness (primary outcome) or positive affect. However, compared to controls, intervention participants experienced a greater increase in self-efficacy for illness management (d = 0.33, p = 0.002), including in 2 of 3 constituent domains: self-efficacy for managing symptoms (d = 0.36, p < 0.001) and self-efficacy for managing treatments/medication (d = 0.22, p = 0.035). Conclusion: Despite the primary outcome's null results, this was the first RCT of a personality feedback intervention to show improvements in self-efficacy for managing chronic illness. Given the important role of self-efficacy in self-management, the intervention has implications for other cancer outcomes. Follow-up studies on longer-term outcomes such as health behaviors and quality of life should be explored. Trial Registration: NCT04625439.

PubMed ID

39547948

Volume

33

Issue

11

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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