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World J Psychiatry. Jun 19, 2026; 16(6): 119401
Published online Jun 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i6.119401
Published online Jun 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i6.119401
Association between illness perception and depression in colorectal cancer patients: Chain mediating effects of self-efficacy and post-traumatic growth
Fu-Zhuo Wang, Ye Huang, Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou 121000, Liaoning Province, China
Jia-Shuang Xu, Department of Nursing, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China
Hong Sun, Department of Nursing, Liaoning Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shenyang 110801, Liaoning Province, China
Xiu-Li Wang, Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou 121000, Liaoning Province, China
Co-first authors: Fu-Zhuo Wang and Jia-Shuang Xu.
Author contributions: Wang FZ and Xu JS conceived and designed the research, and they are the co-first authors of this manuscript; Wang FZ wrote the paper; Wang FZ and Xu JS analyzed the data; Wang FZ, Xu JS, Sun H, Wang XL, and Huang Y revised the paper; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the College of Nursing’s Research Committee at Jinzhou Medical University Institutional Review Board (approval No. JZMULL2023029), and all research methods strictly adhered to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—a checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-a checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: Technical appendix, statistical code, and dataset available from the corresponding author at E-mail address: huangy1@jzmu.edu.cn.
Corresponding author: Ye Huang, FRCS, Deputy Director, Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, No. 2 Section 5 Renmin Street, Guta District, Jinzhou 121000, Liaoning Province, China. huangy1@jzmu.edu.cn
Received: January 29, 2026
Revised: March 7, 2026
Accepted: April 10, 2026
Published online: June 19, 2026
Processing time: 122 Days and 2.3 Hours
Revised: March 7, 2026
Accepted: April 10, 2026
Published online: June 19, 2026
Processing time: 122 Days and 2.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study reveals that self-efficacy and post-traumatic growth play a significant chain mediating role in the relationship between illness perception and depression among colorectal cancer patients. By enhancing patients’ self-efficacy and fostering post-traumatic growth, healthcare providers can effectively mitigate depressive symptoms, offering a dual-target intervention strategy that combines cognitive restructuring with psychological resource development.