Preferences for spousal support among individuals with cancer

Although it is known that individuals have preferences for different forms or amounts of social support from others when dealing with life events, suc h preferences have not been subject to extensive empirical examination. We examined preferences for spousal emotional and instrumental support, as wel l as preferences for spousal control-encouraging responses, among 151 indiv iduals with cancer. Dispositional and situation-specific factors were place d into a hypothetical model predicting support preferences. Results confirm ed predictions: Preferences for emotional and instrumental aspects of suppo rt were related to dispositional (affiliative need), person (gender), and c ontextual (disease impairment) variables. As predicted, higher affiliative need predicted higher preference for emotional support. However, functional impairment did not predict preferences for more instrumental support, and this variable only predicted preferences for more emotional support among f emale patients. Individuals' preferences for control encouragement from the ir spouses were associated with attributions of personal responsibility for solving general life problems and indirectly associated with internal locu s of control. These results provide an initial conceptual model for underst anding cancer patients' preferences for support.