TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence and interest in extreme/adventure activities among gynecologic cancer survivors
T2 - Associations with posttraumatic growth
AU - Crawford, Jennifer J.
AU - Holt, Nicholas L.
AU - Vallance, Jeff K.
AU - Courneya, Kerry S.
N1 - Funding Information:
Thank you to Carol Russell and her team from the Alberta Cancer Registry for their assistance with the sampling of participants. Kerry S. Courneya is supported by the Canada Research Chairs Program.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
PY - 2015/10/1
Y1 - 2015/10/1
N2 - Exercise has been associated with posttraumatic growth in gynecologic cancer survivors (GCS) but the role of extreme/adventure activities has not been investigated. The primary objective of this study was to examine the association between extreme/adventure activities and posttraumatic growth in GCS. A Canadian provincial registry generated a random sample of 2064 GCS stratified by cancer type (i.e., cervical, endometrial, and ovarian) who were mailed a self-report survey that assessed demographic and medical variables, posttraumatic growth, participation and interest in extreme/adventure activities, and exercise growth (i.e., the extent to which the cancer diagnosis itself prompted changes in the amount, type, or nature of exercise activities). Of 621 GCS, only 12.1% reported participating in extreme/adventure activities in the past year. Of 309 GCS interested in a future exercise study, 41.1% were interested in trying extreme/adventure activities. After adjustment for key covariates, neither participation nor interest in extreme/adventure activities were associated with posttraumatic growth. All exercise growth items, however, were significantly associated with all posttraumatic growth scales (all p's < 0.05). In multivariate regression analyses, exercise growth items explained 37.2% of the variance in the posttraumatic growth inventory, 7.2% of the variance in the negative impact of cancer scale, 19.9% of the variance in the positive impact of cancer scale, and 23% of the variance in the benefit finding scale (all p's < 0.001). GCS who change the amount, type, and/or nature of their exercise activities after their diagnosis may be more likely to experience posttraumatic growth.
AB - Exercise has been associated with posttraumatic growth in gynecologic cancer survivors (GCS) but the role of extreme/adventure activities has not been investigated. The primary objective of this study was to examine the association between extreme/adventure activities and posttraumatic growth in GCS. A Canadian provincial registry generated a random sample of 2064 GCS stratified by cancer type (i.e., cervical, endometrial, and ovarian) who were mailed a self-report survey that assessed demographic and medical variables, posttraumatic growth, participation and interest in extreme/adventure activities, and exercise growth (i.e., the extent to which the cancer diagnosis itself prompted changes in the amount, type, or nature of exercise activities). Of 621 GCS, only 12.1% reported participating in extreme/adventure activities in the past year. Of 309 GCS interested in a future exercise study, 41.1% were interested in trying extreme/adventure activities. After adjustment for key covariates, neither participation nor interest in extreme/adventure activities were associated with posttraumatic growth. All exercise growth items, however, were significantly associated with all posttraumatic growth scales (all p's < 0.05). In multivariate regression analyses, exercise growth items explained 37.2% of the variance in the posttraumatic growth inventory, 7.2% of the variance in the negative impact of cancer scale, 19.9% of the variance in the positive impact of cancer scale, and 23% of the variance in the benefit finding scale (all p's < 0.001). GCS who change the amount, type, and/or nature of their exercise activities after their diagnosis may be more likely to experience posttraumatic growth.
KW - Adventure therapy
KW - Cancer
KW - Extreme sport
KW - Oncology
KW - Posttraumatic growth
KW - Psychological growth
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84942799103&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.mhpa.2015.09.001
DO - 10.1016/j.mhpa.2015.09.001
M3 - Journal Article
AN - SCOPUS:84942799103
SN - 1755-2966
VL - 9
SP - 35
EP - 40
JO - Mental Health and Physical Activity
JF - Mental Health and Physical Activity
ER -