The chain mediating effect of medical coping and psychological resilience in postoperative patients with colorectal cancer between disease perception and demoralization syndrome

MA Yujie; WANG Juzi; GAO Aihong; ZHAO Yanyue

doi:10.12102/j.issn.2095-8668.2025.14.015

Abstract：Objective: To analyze the path effect of disease perception on languishing syndrome in patients after colorectal cancer surgery, providing a theoretical basis for medical staff to assess patients' negative emotional states and implement precise nursing measures. Methods: A convenience sampling method was used from January to September 2024 to select 457 patients with colorectal cancer who had undergone surgery at a tertiary class A hospital in Shanxi Province. The study used general information questionnaire, languishing scale, simplified disease perception questionnaire, medical coping scale, and psychological resilience scale to investigate and analyze the influencing factors of languishing syndrome. Results: The total score of the simplified disease perception questionnaire was (42.21±12.53) points, and the total score of the languishing scale was (35.43±8.14) points. Patients' disease perception was negatively correlated with psychological resilience, positively correlated with languishing syndrome, and the 'confrontation' coping style was negatively correlated with languishing syndrome, while 'yielding' and 'avoidance' coping styles were positively correlated with languishing syndrome. Psychological resilience was positively correlated with 'confrontation' coping style and negatively correlated with 'yielding' and 'avoidance' coping styles (all P < 0.05). Model fitting indicators showed that χ²/degrees of freedom was 1.546, root mean square error of approximation was 0.035, goodness-of-fit index was 0.967, adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI) was 0.951, Tucker-Lewis index was 0.970, comparative fit index was 0.977, and incremental fit index was 0.977, indicating a good model fit. Path analysis results showed that disease perception in patients after colorectal cancer surgery could directly predict languishing syndrome. The total indirect effect of psychological resilience and medical coping between disease perception and languishing syndrome was 0.337, accounting for 48.35% of the total effect. Conclusion: Disease perception in patients after colorectal cancer surgery shows a positive predictive trend for languishing syndrome. Languishing syndrome can also be indirectly predicted through the chain mediating effects of psychological resilience and medical coping styles. This suggests that clinical workers should pay attention to patients' cognitive states, improve their psychological resilience levels, and guide patients to adopt positive coping strategies to prevent the occurrence and development of languishing syndrome.