Couples' Support-Related Communication, Psychological Distress, and Relationship Satisfaction Among Women With Early Stage Breast Cancer.

Abstract

This study examined associations between couple communication about cancer and psychological distress and relationship satisfaction of women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. One hundred forty-eight couples completed a videotaped discussion of a cancer-related issue and a general issue. Patients completed measures of psychological distress and relationship satisfaction. Videotapes were coded with the Rapid Marital Interaction Coding System. Analyses focused on partner responses to patient self-disclosures. During cancer-issue discussions, patients reported less distress when partners responded to disclosures with reciprocal self-disclosure and humor and when partners were less likely to propose solutions. Fewer links between partner responses to patient self-disclosures and distress were found in general-issue discussions. Results suggest partner responses play a role in women's adaptation to breast cancer.

Depression, Anxiety and Sexual Satisfaction in Breast Cancer Patients and their Partners-Izmir Oncology Group Study

“…Partners are required to support their spouses in their daily lives, to accompany them during treatments and examinations, to take greater responsibility for their home and children, all of which can lead to psychosocial problems (Given et al, 1992;Compas et al, 1994). In several studies, it was found that the partners themselves often experienced higher levels of distress than the cancer patient, and that there is a high concordance between the distress levels of the patient and the partner (Manne et al, 2004;Segrin et al, 2007;Yusoff et al, 2011). The aim of the present study therefore was to investigate anxiety, depression and sexual satisfaction levels of Turkish breast cancer patients and also their partners.…”

Is self-disclosure in couples coping with cancer associated with improvement in depressive symptoms?

“…Additionally, disclosing one's emotions and thoughts concerning a cancer experience may be different from disclosing emotions and thoughts concerning other personal events, especially acute events such as an upsetting movie. These issues were addressed by Manne, Ostroff, Sherman, et al (2004), who made use of observational data from women with breast cancer and their male partners. The degree of self-disclosures during a cancer-related discussion was not associated with the women's psychological distress as assessed a few days before the discussion.…”

Intimacy and relationship processes in couples' psychosocial adaptation to cancer

“…This dyadic perspective should be reflected when conceptualizing the research question, choosing a study design, selecting methodology and measures, and by using dyadic-level statistical approaches to analyze and interpret the data. [134][135][136] Second, it will be important to use multimethod approaches to measure marital processes by including observational 137 and daily diary methods 138 that can capture the interactional nature of these processes. Measures of some relationship-enhancement behaviors, such as relationship awareness, need to be developed and validated for the cancer context.…”