Table 1.
Associations with demographic factors, health status, and anxiety for each cancer fear indicator*
| Characteristic (n) | Whole sample | Cancer as greatest health fear | Discomfort thinking about cancer | Cancer worry | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | Significance | % | Significance | % | Significance | |
| Whole sample (6,527) | 100 | 58.7 | - | 52.3 | - | 24.9 | - |
| Gender | |||||||
| Male (3,043) | 46.6 | 54.7 | χ 2 = 37.88 | 49.6 | χ 2 = 16.84 | 20.4 | χ 2 = 60.66 |
| Female (3,484) | 53.4 | 62.2 | p < .001 | 54.7 | p < .001 | 28.8 | p < .001 |
| Age | |||||||
| < 60 years (3,300) | 50.6 | 59.2 | χ 2 = 0.83 | 52.8 | χ 2 = 0.48 | 24.8 | χ 2 = 0.001 |
| ≥ 60 years (3,227) | 49.4 | 58.1 | p = .36 | 51.9 | p = .49 | 24.9 | p = .97 |
| Educational qualifications | |||||||
| Yes (2,412) | 37.0 | 50.7 | χ 2 = 100.99 | 46.1 | χ 2 = 58.81 | 20.2 | χ 2 = 43.97 |
| No (4,115) | 63.0 | 63.4 | p < .001 | 56.0 | p < .001 | 27.6 | p < .001 |
| Ethnicity | |||||||
| White (6,242) | 95.6 | 58.5 | χ 2 = 1.46 | 52.1 | χ 2 = 3.24 | 24.3 | χ 2 = 24.24 |
| Not White (285) | 4.4 | 62.1 | p = .23 | 57.5 | p = .07 | 37.2 | p < .001 |
| Marital status | |||||||
| Married or cohabiting (4,877) | 74.7 | 58.7 | χ 2 = 0.01 | 51.5 | χ 2 = 5.32 | 23.8 | χ 2 = 10.73 |
| Not married or cohabiting (1,650) | 25.3 | 58.5 | p = .91 | 54.8 | p < .05 | 27.9 | p < .01 |
| General health | |||||||
| Excellent/good (4,591) | 70.3 | 57.3 | χ 2 = 11.37 | 49.6 | χ 2 = 46.56 | 21.3 | χ 2 = 102.64 |
| Fair/poor (1,936) | 29.7 | 61.8 | p < .01 | 58.8 | p < .001 | 33.2 | p < .001 |
| Anxiety | |||||||
| Low (3,624) | 55.5 | 53.8 | χ 2 = 81.05 | 45.0 | χ 2 = 176.87 | 17.4 | χ 2 = 244.14 |
| High (2,903) | 44.4 | 64.8 | p < .001 | 61.5 | p < .001 | 34.2 | p < .001 |
*Percentages for the cancer fear indicators represent those with higher fear, i.e. those who responded ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’.