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For Better or for Worse: Women, Men, Relationships, Quality of Life and Cancer
Title
For Better or for Worse: Women, Men, Relationships, Quality of Life and Cancer
Creator
Gela, Natalie R.
Date
2011-12-13, 2011-12
Description
Research has shown that cancer can have a detrimental impact on patients’ psychological and psychosocial functioning in addition to affecting...
Show moreResearch has shown that cancer can have a detrimental impact on patients’ psychological and psychosocial functioning in addition to affecting physical health. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a construct that captures patients’ adjustment in the realms of physical, psychological, social and functional well-being. Not only are patients impacted by a diagnosis of cancer, but it has been widely observed that the adjustment and overall well-being of patients’ families, and especially their spouses, can be impacted as well. Furthermore, links have been observed between patients’ and spouses’ mental and physical health during the experience of coping with cancer, suggesting that spouses may influence each others’ well-being. Given this evidence of cross-partner influence and the strong support for the impact of social support on well-being in the context of cancer, marital quality has been studied as a variable that could impact partnered individuals’ mental and physical health. The present study used a sample of newly-diagnosed cancer patients and their partners (N = 87 pairs) to examine the relationship between cancer patients’ self-reported HRQOL and their self-reported marital quality; as well as to examine the relationship between patients’ HRQOL and their partners’ reported marital quality. Gender was explored as a moderator of these relationships given that the available research is equivocal in regards to how gender influences adjustment to chronic illness, especially within dyads. Additionally, the relationship between patients’ and partners’ reports of marital quality was explored. Support was found for the proposed link between patients’ and spouses’ reports of marital quality and patient report of overall HRQOL, as well as between spouses’ reports of marital quality. Gender was found to moderate the association between patient HRQOL and marital quality; however, gender was not found to moderate the link between patient overall HRQOL and partner’s report of marital quality. These findings demonstrate the importance of the couple relationship to well-being within the context of couples coping with cancer. Implications surrounding the lack of unity in the conceptualization and operationalization of these constructs are discussed, as is the importance of controlling for the influences of gender and social role in future study designs.
M.S. in Psychology, December 2011
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THE VETERAN/MILITARY COUPLE RELATIONSHIP IN THE CONTEXT OF POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: THE ROLE OF RELATIONSHIP-FOCUSED COPING AND CONGRUENCY/DISCREPANCY OF COPING
Title
THE VETERAN/MILITARY COUPLE RELATIONSHIP IN THE CONTEXT OF POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: THE ROLE OF RELATIONSHIP-FOCUSED COPING AND CONGRUENCY/DISCREPANCY OF COPING
Creator
Gela, Natalie R.
Date
2016, 2016-07
Description
Intimate relationship functioning is an area of great concern for Veterans and military personnel coping with clinically significant...
Show moreIntimate relationship functioning is an area of great concern for Veterans and military personnel coping with clinically significant posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as for their significant others. Research findings based on couples affected by chronic physical illnesses indicate that specific relationship-focused coping strategies (active engagement, protective buffering, and overprotection) are linked to dyadic adjustment and individual well-being, yet this type of interpersonal coping has not been investigated in the context of Veteran/military samples affected by PTSD. The present study used a sample of Veterans diagnosed with PTSD and their significant others (N = 71 pairs) to examine associations between: (a) relationship-focused coping and dyadic adjustment; (b) relationship-focused coping and PTSD symptom severity; and (c) relationship-focused coping and significant other emotional distress. Actor-Partner Interdependence Models revealed significant associations between relationship-focused coping strategies and dyadic adjustment in the predicted directions. Furthermore, protective buffering and overprotection were positively associated with, and active engagement was negatively associated with, Veteran PTSD symptom severity and significant other emotional distress. Congruency/discrepancy of couple members’ relationship-focused coping was also examined in order to investigate whether or not patterns of coping within a couple impact dyadic adjustment in the context of PTSD, and these findings were not significant. Overall, findings from the present study demonstrate the importance of interpersonal coping processes within the context of military Veterans diagnosed with PTSD and their significant others. The implications of these findings in regards to current theoretical models of PTSD and relationship functioning are discussed. Implications for clinical interventions aimed at treating Veterans diagnosed with PTSD and/or couples coping with a Veteran’s PTSD diagnosis are also discussed.
Ph.D. in Psychology, July 2016
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