Abstract
Background. Husbands of women with breast cancer may experience adjustment difficulties. We examined psychosocial predictors of husbands' adjustment to their wives' breast cancer 3 months following diagnosis. Methods. Women (N = 45) with Stage I or II breast cancer who were 3 months postdiagnosis and their husbands completed measures of adjustment, coping, marital adjustment, and quality of life. Results. Multiple regression analyses showed husbands' avoidant coping and wives' adjustment accounted for approximately 54% of the variance in husbands' adjustment. Conclusions. Further research on predictors of husbands' adjustment following wives' diagnoses of breast cancer is needed to inform intervention efforts. J Cancer Educ. 2007;22:245–249.
Presented at the poster session of the Third Annual Cancer Center Symposium, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, November 2005.