Psychological distress in cancer patients and their spouses

The degree of psychosocial distress experienced by 15 cancer patients with newly diagnosed metastatic disease and their spouses was investigated. Of interest were mean changes over the six-month interval following diagnosis, and correlations between partners at 0, 3, and 6-7 months. The Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS) and the Family Environment Scale (FES) were used to quantify adjustment. Several PAIS subscales exhibited increasing distress over time for patients: Social Environment (p = 0.004), Vocational Environment (p = 0.028), and Psychological Distress (p = 0.029). FES Conflict increased over time (p < 0.005), while Intellectual Cultural Orientation declined (p = 0.02), both for spouses only. Of 24 patient-spouse PAIS correlations (7 subscales plus a global scale, at three times), 7 (29%) were 0.70 or greater (ps < 0.01). Of 30 FES correlations, 17 (57%) were 0.7 or higher (ps < 0.01). These results suggest that some stresses increase over time, and that spouses and patients share a similar perceived level of distress. Health professionals must address the psychological distress of the spouse as well as the patient.