Couples' patterns of adjustment to colon cancer

The objectives for this longitudinal study were to: (a) compare colon cance r patients' and their spouses' appraisal of illness, resources, concurrent stress; and adjustment during the first year following surgery; (b) examine the influence of gender (male vs female) and role (patient vs spouse careg iver) on study variables; (c) assess the degree of correlation between pati ents' and spouses' adjustments; and (d) identify factors that affect adjust ment to the illness. Fifty-six couples were interviewed at one week post di agnosis, and at 60 days and one year post surgery. Based on a cognitive-app raisal model of stress, the Smilkstein Stress Scale was used to measure con current stress; the Family APGAR, Social Support Questionnaire, and Dyadic Adjustment Scale were used to measure social resources; the Beck Hopelessne ss Scale and Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scales were used to measure appr aisal of illness; and the Brief Symptom Inventory and Psychosocial Adjustme nt to Illness Scale were used to measure psychosocial adjustment. Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance indicated that spouses reported significantly more emotional distress and less social support than patients. Gender diff erences were found, with women reporting more distress, more role problems, and less marital satisfaction, regardless of whether they were patient or spouse, Both patients and spouses reported decreases in their family functi oning and social support, but also decreases in emotional distress over tim e. Moderately high autocorrelations and modest intercorrelations were found among and between patients' and spouses' adjustment scores over time. The strongest predictors of patients' role adjustment problems were hopelessnes s and spouses' role problems. The strongest predictors of spouses' role pro blems were spouses' own baseline role problems and level of marital satisfa ction. Interventions need to start early in the course of illness, be famil y-focused, and identify the couples at risk of poorer adjustment to colon c ancer. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.