Coping, Distress, and Marital Adjustment in Couples with Cancer

Abstract

We examined the links between coping and psychological outcomes in 53 patients who had undergone radiotherapy for cancer. Patients completed a coping survey and a measure of perceived support during a six-week course of radiation therapy and reported about their mental health and marital satisfaction one month following treatment. The prospective associations between coping and psychological distress and martial satisfaction depended upon the supportive context in which patients were coping. Seeking emotional support and using positive reappraisal were more effective (i.e., were significantly and positively correlated with marital satisfaction) for people low in spousal support than for people high in such support. Although men and women reported coping similarly with the cancer and had similar levels of adjustment, the association between coping and outcomes differed by gender; the associations for women were significantly stronger than they were for men. Results thus suggest that both individual and environmental characteristics moderate the associations between coping and outcomes in cancer survivors.

Key Words:

• Coping
• support
• cancer
• adjustment