Dyadic Profiles of Couples Coping With Body Image Concerns After Breast Cancer: Preliminary Results of a Cluster Analysis

Abstract

Breast cancer treatments have multiple adverse effects, including concerns about body appearance and function that are experienced by most patients. Altered body image negatively affects mental health, social, and relationship functioning. While the relationship with a partner is critical for patients’ psychological wellbeing and partners can promote positive body image, limited research has investigated individual and relational factors affecting the experience of both. This cross-sectional study aimed at (1) exploring rates of body image concerns among breast cancer patients, and (2) identifying dyadic profiles among participating dyads. Couples composed by patients who had undergone surgery and their romantic partners (n = 32) were recruited from the Breast Unit of a hospital in northern Italy. Both partners completed measures of personality characteristics (BFQ-2), psychological distress (HADS), coping flexibility (PACT), dyadic coping (DCQ), and closeness (IOS). Body image (BIS) and adjustment to cancer (Mini-MAC) measures were completed by patients only. K-mean cluster analyses identified 2-cluster solution among patients and partners, respectively. “Active patients” (cluster-1) reported low rates of body image concerns (p < 0.001), anxious preoccupation, negative dyadic coping, and self-oriented stress communication (p < 0.05), compared to “worried patients” (cluster-2). “Comfortable partners” (cluster-1) reported lower anxiety and depression (p < 0.001), self-oriented negative dyadic coping and closeness (p < 0.05) than “uncomfortable partners” (cluster-2). Three different dyadic profiles emerged: functional, dysfunctional, and ambivalent. Significant variations (p < 0.05) by anxiety, depression, and delegating dyadic coping existed. Results indicate there are groups of couples at greater risk for impaired psychological distress and body image concerns, which should be addressed in the context of dyadic psychosocial interventions.

Beauty Therapy to Support Psychosocial Recovery from Oncological Care: A Qualitative Research on the Lived Experience of Women with Breast Cancer Treated with Chemotherapy

“…Participants appeared extremely severe with their bodies, disqualifying them and painfully recalling their previous external look. A number of studies [4,49,50] have been conducted in the scientific literature on the connections between these factors and sexual experiences, feelings, and thoughts, as well as intimacy, complicity, and relationship with a romantic partner.…”

“…In spite of this, a large proportion of patients with BC experience multiple concurrent psychological symptoms during the cancer care trajectory, such as a reduction in general quality of life, problems in relationships and sexuality, as well as negative consequences on therapeutic adherence as a result of the side effects of cancer treatments [3][4][5]. Among these, issues related to body image have long been considered important aspects of determining the quality of life of women diagnosed with BC and undergoing chemotherapy [4,5].…”

“…In these terms, body image, rather than a definite property of an individual at a given moment, could be described as a process, a work of intrapersonal and interpersonal construction of a subject's image of themselves, which integrates lived experiences, cognitions, emotions, and characteristics present, past, and desired in a unitary representation in continuous development with changes in response to life events. For these reasons, when we talk about body image, we cannot only stick to the conscious experience of the subject; we must also broaden the field of interest to the mutual influence exerted by the relational context and, in accordance with this, pay attention to the representation that the significant other has of the woman and the impact that it has on the evaluation of woman's body image [4].…”

Evaluating Somatic Experiencing® to Heal Cancer Trauma: First Evidence with Breast Cancer Survivors

“…As a result, additional resources must be allocated from this perspective to manage and support long-term BC survivorship. Further, it is important to identify effective interventions for the treatment of BC trauma that are aimed at responding to patients' complex health-related issues [9][10][11][12][13].…”

Effects of dyadic-based physical activity intervention on cancer-related fatigue among cancer survivors: A scoping review

“…Relevant studies have shown that dyadic intervention considers the influence of social and environmental factors on physical activity and can improve the compliance and efficacy of physical activity intervention by increasing social support and strengthening social relations (Cobb et al, 2016 ; Winters-Stone et al, 2016 ; Ellis et al, 2017 ). In addition, based on previous use of the actor-partner interdependence model to explore the cancer survivors-caregiver relationship, the researchers found that the adverse effects experienced by cancer survivors can spread from the survivors to their caregivers (Saita et al, 2022 ), and caregivers of cancer survivors may experience the same or even more symptoms as survivors (Milbury et al, 2019 ). These adverse effects can in turn affect their engagement in caregiving activities.…”