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Associations between dyadic coping and supportive care needs: findings from a study with hematologic cancer patients and their partners

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Abstract

Purpose

The way couples mutually cope with hematologic cancer is likely to influence their levels of supportive care needs (SCN). Therefore, this study evaluated the levels of dyadic coping (DC) and SCN and the concurrent associations between both variables.

Methods

Three hundred thirty patients with a hematologic malignancy (63% male) and their partners completed the dyadic coping inventory (DCI) and the supportive care needs survey (SCNS-SF-34-G). The levels of dyadic coping (DC) and supportive care needs (SCN) were compared with representative validation samples. Correlational analyses and actor-partner interdependence models (APIM) were calculated to estimate the association between DC and SCN.

Results

Partners’ stress communication of cancer patients (as part of DC) was decreased in contrast to that of a non-cancer sample. The perception of partners’ delegated DC was higher (both with a moderate effect size of g ≥ |0.50|). SCN of patients and partners were lower in the dimensions health system/information and physical problems/daily living in contrast to those of a cancer patients’ validation sample (both with a small effect of g ≥ |0.20|). Higher perceptions of partners’ negative DC were associated with higher SCN for both patients and partners. The same was true for patients’ own stress communication and SCN, but only for the patients. Sociodemographic and illness-related factors were only partially related with the SCN of patients and partners.

Conclusions

In order to diminish SCN of patients and partners, a possible way is to strengthen the quality of the dyadic relation. Due to its associations with elevated SCN, stress communication and negative dyadic coping behaviours may be useful targets for psychosocial interventions.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the couples for their participation in the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medical Center Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße 55, 04103, Leipzig, Germany

    Gregor Weißflog, Anja Mehnert & Jochen Ernst

  2. Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany

    Klaus Hönig, Harald Gündel & Dirk Lang

  3. Comprehensive Cancer Center Ulm (CCCU), Ulm, Germany

    Klaus Hönig, Harald Gündel, Dirk Lang & Hartmut Döhner

  4. Division of Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    Dietger Niederwieser

  5. Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital of Ulm, Ulm, Germany

    Hartmut Döhner

  6. Department of Internal Medicine III, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

    Martin Vogelhuber

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  1. Gregor Weißflog
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  2. Klaus Hönig
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gregor Weißflog.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interests.

Source of funding

This work was supported by a grant from the Deutsche José Carreras Leukämie-Stiftung (grant no. DJCLS R 12/36).

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Weißflog, G., Hönig, K., Gündel, H. et al. Associations between dyadic coping and supportive care needs: findings from a study with hematologic cancer patients and their partners. Support Care Cancer 25, 1445–1454 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3541-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3541-3

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