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Course of distress in breast cancer patients, their partners, and matched control couples
Chris Hinnen1, Adelita V Ranchor, Robbert Sanderman
1Department of Health Sciences, Graduate School for Health Research, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Background:
Previous studies offer a limited perspective on the dynamic course of distress in cancer patients and their partners, owing to a restricted number of assessment points and the absence of comparison controls drawn from the general population.
Purpose:
This study investigated the course of distress among breast cancer patients and their partners (N = 92 couples) in comparison to matched control couples (N = 64). Furthermore, the influence of neuroticism on distress was investigated.
Method:
The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was administered nine times over a 12-month period, and neuroticism was assessed at the beginning of the study using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire.
Results:
Multilevel analyses revealed that patients were more distressed during the first 15 months after diagnosis than nonpatients. A significant portion of the distress that could not be explained by the cancer experience was explained by neuroticism.
Conclusion:
Differences in distress between patients and comparison-control women are relatively small and decreased over time, while distress in male partners was not elevated in comparison to their controls.
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