THE IMPACT OF A BRIEF PROBLEM-SOLVING TRAINING INTERVENTION FOR RELATIVES OF RECENTLY DIAGNOSED BREAST-CANCER PATIENTS

Previous studies have found high levels of psychological distress in w omen who have a family history of breast cancer We evaluated a brief P roblem-Solving Training (PST) intervention designed to reduce distress among women with a first-degree relative recently diagnosed with this disease. Participants were randomly assigned to either the PST group (N = 144) or a General Health Counseling (GHC) control group (N = 197) . At baseline, these groups did not differ on any sociodemographic, ri sk factor or psychological distress variables. We evaluated the impact of PST relative to GHC, at the three-month follow-lip assessment usin g a 2 (treatment group) x 2 (time of assessment) mixed factor analysis of variance (ANOVA). Although there were significant decreases in bot h cancer-specific and general distress in both the PST and GHC groups, the magnitude of these decreases did not differ However when PST part icipants were divided into those who regularly practiced the PST techn iques and those who did not, significant differences emerged. Particip ants who regularly practiced the PST techniques had significantly grea ter decreases in cancer-specific distress [Impact of Event Scale (IEs) intrusion and avoidance subscales] compared to infrequent practicers and GHC participants. Effects on general distress were not found. Addi tional studies are needed to identify ways to promote the practice of PST techniques and to evaluate other psychosocial interventions for fe male relatives of breast cancer patients.