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Everyday protective buffering predicts intimacy and fear of cancer recurrence in couples coping with early-stage breast cancer.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:Patient and spouse/partner mutual self-disclosure is central for maintaining intimacy and cognitive processing when transitioning to life after cancer. Protective buffering inhibits self-disclosure and is defined as efforts to protect one's partner from upset and burden by hiding or denying cancer-related concerns. Intimacy and fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) are important determinants of individual and couple adaptation following cancer. Links between protective buffering and intimacy have not been examined in the context of daily life, and links with FCR have not been studied. We hypothesized that protective buffering is associated with decreased intimacy and increased FCR at a daily, within-person level. METHODS:Sixty-nine early-stage breast cancer (BC) survivors and their spouses completed electronic diaries for 21 consecutive days at the end of adjuvant treatment. Patients and spouses reported on daily protective buffering, intimacy, and FCR. Dyadic multilevel path modeling was used to estimate within-person effects. Patient and spouse protective buffering on one's own as well as one's partner's same-day intimacy and FCR were examined, controlling for previous levels of intimacy and FCR. RESULTS:Protective buffering was associated with decreased intimacy and increased FCR for the individual reporting buffering that same day. Patient and spouse protective buffering was also linked to decreased intimacy for her/his partner that same day. Moreover, patient protective buffering predicted increased spouse FCR that same day. CONCLUSIONS:Findings supported a daily, within-person link between buffering, intimacy, and FCR, suggesting open disclosure of cancer-related concerns may be a relevant target for interventions for adaptation to BC.

SUBMITTER: Perndorfer C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6815683 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Everyday protective buffering predicts intimacy and fear of cancer recurrence in couples coping with early-stage breast cancer.

Perndorfer Christine C Soriano Emily C EC Siegel Scott D SD Laurenceau Jean-Philippe JP

Psycho-oncology 20181203 2

<h4>Objective</h4>Patient and spouse/partner mutual self-disclosure is central for maintaining intimacy and cognitive processing when transitioning to life after cancer. Protective buffering inhibits self-disclosure and is defined as efforts to protect one's partner from upset and burden by hiding or denying cancer-related concerns. Intimacy and fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) are important determinants of individual and couple adaptation following cancer. Links between protective buffering and ...[more]

PMID: 30426612

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Project description:Introduction: COVID-19 has had a profound impact on relationship functioning, though effects have been heterogeneous. Reasons for divergent effects on relationship functioning remain unclear. Theoretical models suggest that it is not just stress exposure that leads to adverse relationships outcomes, but also subjective response to these stressors. Using data from a 14-day intensive longitudinal study of romantic dyads, we hypothesized that COVID-19-related distress would adversely impact one’s own and one’s partner’s report of relationship functioning, on average. Interdependence at the trait level (random effects between couples) and day level (residuals within couples) was also examined. Methods: Participants were 104 female-male romantic couples cohabiting the New York metropolitan area (Mage = 28.86, SDage = 7.69) between August 2020 – April 2021. Couples reported COVID-19 distress during a baseline interview and daily relationship functioning for 14 days. Multilevel models were specified for six outcomes simultaneously: female and male partner daily physical intimacy, emotional intimacy, and loneliness. Interrelationships of the intercepts of the six outcomes were specified, reflecting trait-level associations of each partner’s stable outcome tendencies. Interrelationships of the daily residuals of the six outcomes were also specified, reflecting within-couple associations at the daily level. Results: Female partner COVID-19 distress was inversely associated with her own emotional and physical intimacy and positively associated with her own and her partner’s loneliness. Male COVID-19 distress was associated with his own loneliness only. There was significant interdependence at both levels, such that greater loneliness in either partner was associated with less intimacy in each member of the couple. Discussion: Only one partner effect for COVID-19 distress emerged, such that female partner distress was associated with male partner loneliness; however, trait- and day-level interdependence suggested that distress may adversely impact relational well-being over time. Future studies should examine reciprocal relationships between COVID-19-related distress and relationship functioning.

Dataset Information

Everyday protective buffering predicts intimacy and fear of cancer recurrence in couples coping with early-stage breast cancer.

Publications

Everyday protective buffering predicts intimacy and fear of cancer recurrence in couples coping with early-stage breast cancer.

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