Social support and patterns of adjustment to breast cancer

The effect of marital support and support from other adults on the emotional and physical adjustment of 128 women with breast cancer was examined. Role function and satisfaction with health care also were evaluated as predictors of adjustment. Intact data series were obtained at 7-10 days, at 1, 2, 3, and 6 months, and 1 year postsurgery. Emotional adjustment could be predicted by satisfaction with a spouse's response to interactional and emotional needs and by support from other adults. The relationships were significant at concurrent times, across contiguous times, and predicting from the 7-10 day postsurgical period to both the 6-month and 1-year end points. Physical adjustment was not predicted by support but satisfaction with health care was predictive of perceived overall health status. Functional status in vocational, domestic, and social roles was significantly related to emotional and physical adjustment at all phases with few exceptions.