ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1597999
Self-Efficacy-Kinesiophobia Correlation in Postoperative Patients with Primary Liver Cancer: The Chain-Mediating Effect of Postoperative Fatigue and Negative Emotions
Provisionally accepted
- 1Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
- 2Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang, Hubei, China
- 3Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Anesthesiology, Shiyan People's Hospital, Shiyan, China
- 4Xiangyang Central Hospital, Xiangyang, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Introduction: Early postoperative mobilization poses a momentous challenge for patients with primary liver cancer (PLC) after undergoing laparoscopic surgery, and the onset of kinesiophobia can adversely affect their physical activity, mental health, and overall quality of life. This study aims to investigate the impact of self-efficacy on kinesiophobia in postoperative patients with PLC, along with the chain-mediating effect of postoperative fatigue (POF) and negative emotions on selfefficacy and kinesiophobia. Methods: This cross-sectional study used demographic questionnaires, the Tampa Scale for , and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) to survey 328 patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery for PLC between January and June 2024.Results: There was a moderate negative correlation between self-efficacy and kinesiophobia in postoperative patients with PLC (r = -0.544, P < 0.01). POF mediated the self-efficacykinesiophobia correlation ( = -0.159, 95% confidence interval (CI): [-0.248, -0.052]), accounting for 27.32% of the total effect. Moreover, negative emotions mediated the self-efficacy-kinesiophobia correlation ( = -0.108, 95% CI: [-0.281, -0.026]), accounting for 18.56% of the total effect. Furthermore, the chain-mediating effect of POF and negative emotions on self-efficacy and kinesiophobia was significant ( = -0.069, 95% CI: [-0.190, -0.019]), with the total indirect effect accounting for 57.56% of the total effect. Conclusions: The prevalence of kinesiophobia is comparatively higher among patients after PLC surgery. Self-efficacy not only directly affects kinesiophobia but also indirectly influences it through POF and negative emotions. This study offers a scientific basis for creating effective interventions to alleviate the adverse physiological and psychological effects of kinesiophobia in postoperative patients with PLC.
Keywords: primary liver cancer, Kinesiophobia, self-efficacy, Postoperative fatigue, Negative emotions, chain-mediating effect
Received: 22 Mar 2025; Accepted: 06 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Luo, Yang, Ma, He and Xiao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Hong He, Xiangyang Central Hospital, Xiangyang, 441000, China
Hong Xiao, Xiangyang Central Hospital, Xiangyang, 441000, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.