Quality of life of couples dealing with cancer: Dyadic and individual adjustment among breast and prostate cancer survivors and their spousal caregivers
Quality of life of couples dealing with cancer: Dyadic and individual adjustment among breast and prostate cancer survivors and their spousal caregivers
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DOI：
10.1007/s12160-008-9026-y
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发表时间：
2008-04-01
影响因子：
3.8
通讯作者：
Smith, Tenbroeck G.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kim, Youngmee;Kashy, Deborah A.;Smith, Tenbroeck G.
背景和目的虽然有证据表明，幸存者和配偶照料者往往经历类似程度的痛苦，幸存者的痛苦影响到他/她自己的生活质量，但每个人的痛苦对其配偶生活质量的独立影响程度尚不清楚。因此，本研究旨在探讨心理苦恼对癌症患者夫妇生活质量的影响。方法通过美国癌症协会的癌症幸存者研究和照顾者生活质量调查，对168名已婚幸存者和照顾者双方提供了完整的研究变量数据。结果采用行为者伴侣相互依赖模型，结果表明，虽然每个人的心理痛苦是他们自己生活质量的最强预测者，但伴侣的痛苦和(不相似)痛苦也对一个人的生活质量起着重要的作用。结论本研究的系统性研究为确定癌症存活者及其配偶中因相互心理困扰而易受生活质量影响的人群提供了有价值的证据。这些发现表明，夫妻可以从增强他们管理心理困扰的能力的干预中受益，特别是妻子的干预，这可能会改善双方在与癌症打交道时的心理和身体健康。
Background and Purpose Although evidence suggests that survivors and spousal caregivers tend to experience somewhat similar levels of distress and that the survivor's distress affects his/her own quality of life, the degree to which each person's distress has an independent effect on their partner's quality of life is unknown. Thus, this study aimed to examine the dyadic effects of psychological distress on the quality of life of couples dealing with cancer.Methods A total of 168 married survivor-caregiver dyads participating in the American Cancer Society's Study of Cancer Survivors-I and Quality of Life Survey for Caregivers provided complete data for study variables. Participating survivors were diagnosed with either breast or prostate cancer approximately 2 years prior to participating in the study.Results Using the Actor Partner Interdependence Model, results revealed that although each person's psychological distress is the strongest predictor of their own quality of life, partner's distress and (dis)similarity in distress of the couple also play significant roles in one's quality of life. In addition, the adverse effect of having a partner who is less emotionally resourceful was especially pronounced on men's physical health.Conclusions Our systematic investigation provided valuable evidence for identifying the subgroup of cancer survivors and their spouses who are vulnerable to poor quality of life due to their mutual psychological distress. These findings suggest that couples may benefit from interventions that enhance their ability to manage psychological distress, particularly the wife's, which may improve the mental and physical health of both partners when they are dealing with cancer.