Defining Attributes
The defining attributes of a concept represent a cluster of qualities most frequently
associated with the concept in the literature. Such elements help differentiate self-advocacy
from related concepts and allow for easy identification of self-advocacy in action. Selfadvocacy’s
defining attributes (Figure 2) represent internalizing and leveraging the
antecedents of self-advocacy into efforts to manage the challenges associated with cancer in
a way that upholds the survivors’ personal goals and beliefs. These attributes can be
categorized into three categories: