Hope and social support utilisation among different age groups of women with breast cancer and their spouses

Abstract

Objective: Social support and hope are considered positive, important contributors to psychological well-being for women with breast cancer and their spouses. Few studies examine the role of age in relation to these variables. The current study compares the relationship between social support, hope and depression among different age groups of women with advanced breast cancer and their healthy spouses.

Design: Cross-sectional sample of 150 women with advanced breast cancer and their spouses.

Main outcome measures: Social support, hope, depression and socio-demographic data. Analysis included comparison of these variables between groups of older and younger patients and their spouses. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to examine hope as a mediator of the relationship between social support and depression within each group (older and younger patients and spouses).

Results: Older patients and spouses reported lower levels of depression than younger ones. SEM showed that social support related directly to depression among younger women and older spouses, while hope was directly related to depression among older women and younger spouses and acted as a mediator between social support and depression.

Conclusions: Theoretical, empirical and clinical implications regarding the understanding of the role of age in coping with cancer are discussed.

Keywords:

• psycho-oncology
• age
• social support
• hope
• spouses