Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Psychiatry. Jun 19, 2026; 16(6): 115742
Published online Jun 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i6.115742
Published online Jun 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i6.115742
Relationship between body image and stigma among Chinese breast cancer patients: A chain mediation model
Xiao-Hua He, Clinical Nursing Teaching and Research Section, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410011, Hunan Province, China
Xiao-Hua He, Department of Nursing, Zhangjiajie People’s Hospital, Zhangjiajie 427000, Hunan Province, China
Bo Zhou, You-Wen Gong, Department of Nursing, Changde Hospital, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University (The First People’s Hospital of Changde City), Changde 415000, Hunan Province, China
Yang Liu, School of Nursing, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, Hunan Province, China
Hong-Ling Zheng, Breast Surgery Ward 1, Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sich
Co-first authors: Xiao-Hua He and Bo Zhou.
Co-corresponding authors: You-Wen Gong and Hong-Ling Zheng.
Author contributions: He XH and Zhou B contributed equally to this manuscript and are co-first authors. He XH conceived and supervised the study; Zhou B and Liu Y conducted the data analyses; He XH and Gong YW prepared the initial draft; Zheng HL and Zhou B provided critical revisions; Gong YW and Zheng HL jointly organized and finalized the manuscript and shared co-corresponding authorship. All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.
AI contribution statement: AI tools (Grammarly) were used solely for linguistic refinement and formatting assistance. No AI tool was involved in the generation of research data, interpretation of results, or formulation of conclusions. All AI-generated outputs were critically reviewed and revised by the authors.
Supported by Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 2025JJ80414; and Health Research Project of Hunan Provincial Health Commission, No. 20253681.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the University of South China’s Ethics Committee (No. CS2023231).
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants before they were enrolled in the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: Data associated with this study can be obtained from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: You-Wen Gong, MD, Professor, Department of Nursing, Changde Hospital, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University (The First People’s Hospital of Changde City), No. 818 Renmin Road, Changde 415000, Hunan Province, China.
Received: October 24, 2025
Revised: December 4, 2025
Accepted: February 2, 2026
Published online: June 19, 2026
Processing time: 216 Days and 20.8 Hours
Revised: December 4, 2025
Accepted: February 2, 2026
Published online: June 19, 2026
Processing time: 216 Days and 20.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Body image disturbance is a prominent psychosocial concern among individuals with breast cancer and is closely associated with increased perceptions of stigma in clinical settings. This study examined whether resilience and social support function as mediating mechanisms that link body image and stigma in a sample of Chinese patients with breast cancer. Given data from a cross-sectional survey, the findings highlighted the crucial roles played by resilience and perceived social support in alleviating the negative impacts of body image disturbances. These results provide valuable insights for developing targeted interventions to strengthen patients’ psychological resources, ultimately reducing stigma and improving their overall well-being.