Previous studies have shown that self-acceptance is associated with psychological well-being, including psychological symptoms and life satisfaction. The present study focused on gastrointestinal cancer patients and investigated the mechanism between self-acceptance and psychological well-being among those patients, by considering the mediator role of meaning in life. A total of 292 patients with gastrointestinal cancer were recruited to complete a series of questionnaires including Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (SAQ), Chinese version of Meaning in Life Questionnaire (CMLQ), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). Results showed that the proposed model fitted the data very well (χ2/df = 2.06, GFI = 0.980, CFI = 0.979, TLI = 0.956, RMSEA = 0.061). Further analyses revealed that, the meaning in life mediated the relation between self-acceptance and psychological well-being, including psychological symptoms (indirect effect = -0.094, 95% CI = -0.155~-0.035) and life satisfaction (indirect effect = 0.243, 95% CI = 0.154 ~ 0.330). Thus, this research supported that meaning in life acts as the mediator between self-acceptance and psychological wellbeing, which is measured by psychological symptoms and life satisfaction. Meaning in life played a critical role in the relation between self-acceptance and psychological well-being. Limitations, clinical implications, and directions for future research were discussed.
Keywords: Meaning in life; gastrointestinal cancer; life satisfaction; psychological symptoms; self-acceptance.