The mediating role of self‐efficacy in the association between perceived stigma and psychosocial adjustment: a cross‐sectional study among nasopharyngeal cancer survivors

Objective This study aims to examine the levels of and associations between perceived stigma, self‐efficacy, and psychosocial adjustment (PA) among nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) survivors, and to identify the mediating role of self‐efficacy between stigma and PA and explore the influencing factors of PA. Methods A cross‐sectional survey was conducted and 307 NPC survivors were recruited by convenience sampling method in Southern China from July 2019 to January 2020. Data analyses were performed with the SPSS WIN 25.0 program and PROCESS macro version 3.3. Results Stigma and self‐efficacy were positively associated with PA among Chinese NPC survivors. Tumor‐free survival time, late toxicities (fatigue, dizziness and headache, and hearing loss), stigma, and self‐efficacy entered the final regression model and explained 55.9% of the variance of PA. The total and direct effects of stigma on PA and its subscales were significant (p