Stigma and related influencing factors in brain cancer patients: a cross-sectional study and parallel mediation analysis

Purpose Patients with brain cancer and painful symptoms of the disease experience heavy pressure and negative inner experiences, leading to a sense of stigma. Therefore, this study assessed the level of stigma in patients with brain cancer and analyzed the risk factors for stigma to analyze the underlying relationships among depression, social support, low self-esteem, and stigma. Methods Patients completed the Social Impact Scale, Self-rating Depression Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Herth Hope Index, Social Support Rating Scale, and Self-Perceived Burden Scale. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify factors independently associated with stigma. Parallel mediation analysis was used to evaluate the mediating role of the relationship between psychoemotional factors and stigma. Results A multivariate linear regression analysis demonstrated significant associations between age ( β = − 0.189, P = 0.002), treatment ( β = 0.184, P = 0.003), self-esteem ( β = − 0.128, P = 0.046), depression ( β = 0.273, P