Constructing a structural equation model of fertility anxiety, medical coping, and risk perception in cancer survivors

Abstract

Abstract This study aimed to explore the associations between fertility anxiety, medical coping, and risk perception in cancer survivors. We assessed 516 cancer survivors using fertility anxiety, medical coping, and risk perception scales. The score obtained for fertility anxiety was (63.227 ± 12.664); the score for the coping dimension was (21.114 ± 6.478); the score for the avoidance dimension was (16.680 ± 6.800); and the score for the submission dimension was (13.159 ± 4.674). The mean risk perception score was 39.949 ± 11.869. The structural equation model showed that risk perception had a negative role in facing (P < 0.001), and a positive role in avoidance, submission, and fertility concerns (P < 0.001). Avoidance and submission had positive effects on fertility concerns (P < 0.05), while facing had negative effects on fertility concerns (P < 0.05). Medical coping was a mediating variable between risk perception and fertility concerns. Fertility anxiety and risk perception were at a medium level among the cancer survivors assessed, with the participants more inclined to adopt a confrontational coping style. Medical coping can modulate the interaction between risk perception and fertility concerns.