Distancing, self‐esteem, and subjective well‐being in head and neck cancer

BACKGROUND: Distancing (i.e. construing oneself as dissimilar to a negatively-stereotyped group) preserves self-esteem and may benefit other domains of subjective well-being. Head and neck cancer (HNC) is stigmatized because major risk factors include avoidable lifestyle variables (smoking, alcohol consumption, and human papilloma virus). Because the benefits of coping efforts, such as distancing, are most evident when people are under stress, …