Illness Meaning-Making in an Oncology Support Group: A Longitudinal Lexical Correspondence Analysis of Group Discourse.
- 1Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
- 2Hospital Psychology Unit, Vito Fazzi Hospital, Local Health Authority (ASL) of Lecce, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
Abstract
Living with cancer involves an ongoing effort to make sense of experiences that disrupt identity, relationships, and future expectations. Meaning-making is embedded in interpersonal and healthcare contexts, including psychosocial support settings where illness experiences are shared with others. This exploratory longitudinal study examined the evolving configuration of illness meanings in an oncology support group. Verbatim transcripts from 19 sessions involving 11 women with recent or ongoing cancer treatment were analyzed using Lexical Correspondence Analysis across four temporal blocks, with speaker roles as illustrative variables. Descriptive analyses of group climate, working alliance, and open-ended responses contextualized discursive findings. Two semantic dimensions organized group discourse: one contrasting illness as situated experience with experiential elaboration, and the other emotional elaboration with embodied experiences of safety. After Benzécri's adjustment, the two dimensions accounted for 33.86% of the explained inertia. Their salience varied across temporal blocks rather than linearly. Illness-related meanings remained salient while becoming embedded within experiential, relational, and embodied configurations. Group process data indicated engagement, low conflict, and collaboration, while open-ended responses highlighted normalization, belonging, emotional safety, emotional resonance, coping resources, and facilitator support. The study contributes to process-oriented psycho-oncology research by examining how illness meanings are negotiated within a support-group.
Related
- Sleep Disturbances and Health-Related Quality of Life in Paediatric Oncology: A Comparative Study with Non-Oncological Chronic Illness and Healthy Peers.
- Transfusion practices, thresholds, and complications in pediatric oncology patients: a single-center prospective longitudinal observational study
- Cohort-Defined Low Skeletal Muscle Mass and Functional Dependency After Critical Illness: A 12-Month Longitudinal Study
- From discordance to clinical decision support: integrating longitudinal imaging and ctDNA through multimodal artificial intelligence in precision oncology
- Psychometric properties and longitudinal measurement invariance of the Functional Assessment of Cancer-Gynecologic Oncology Group-Neurotoxicity subscale in the Chinese colorectal cancer chemotherapy population.
BibTeX
@article{venuleo2026illness,
title = {{Illness Meaning-Making in an Oncology Support Group: A Longitudinal Lexical Correspondence Analysis of Group Discourse.}},
author = {Claudia Venuleo and Paolo Colavero and Silvia De Padova and Monica Scotto Di Carlo},
journal = {European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ejihpe16100159},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42930222},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Illness Meaning-Making in an Oncology Support Group: A Longitudinal Lexical Correspondence Analysis of Group Discourse.
AU - Claudia Venuleo
AU - Paolo Colavero
AU - Silvia De Padova
AU - Monica Scotto Di Carlo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education
DO - 10.3390/ejihpe16100159
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42930222
AB - Living with cancer involves an ongoing effort to make sense of experiences that disrupt identity, relationships, and future expectations. Meaning-making is embedded in interpersonal and healthcare contexts, including psychosocial support settings where illness experiences are shared with others. This exploratory longitudinal study examined the evolving configuration of illness meanings in an oncology support group. Verbatim transcripts from 19 sessions involving 11 women with recent or ongoing cancer treatment were analyzed using Lexical Correspondence Analysis across four temporal blocks, with speaker roles as illustrative variables. Descriptive analyses of group climate, working alliance, and open-ended responses contextualized discursive findings. Two semantic dimensions organized group discourse: one contrasting illness as situated experience with experiential elaboration, and the other emotional elaboration with embodied experiences of safety. After Benzécri's adjustment, the two dimensions accounted for 33.86% of the explained inertia. Their salience varied across temporal blocks rather than linearly. Illness-related meanings remained salient while becoming embedded within experiential, relational, and embodied configurations. Group process data indicated engagement, low conflict, and collaboration, while open-ended responses highlighted normalization, belonging, emotional safety, emotional resonance, coping resources, and facilitator support. The study contributes to process-oriented psycho-oncology research by examining how illness meanings are negotiated within a support-group.
SN - 2174-8144
SN - 2254-9625
ER -