THE RELATIONS AMONG PRIMARY TREATMENT ALTERNATIVES, SYMPTOM DISTRESS, PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT, AND PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT TO BREAST CANCER IN UNMARRIED WOMEN.

Description

Breast cancer is a significant health problem that can affect many aspects of a woman's life. Although there is growing evidence that women with supportive husbands seem to adjust reasonably well, little is known about the impact of breast cancer among unmarried women. In this study the relations among primary treatment alternatives, symptom distress, perceived social support, and psychosocial adjustment to breast cancer in unmarried women were investigated. Using a framework guided by concepts and propositions derived from the theoretical and empirical literature on stress, social support, and adjustment to illness it was hypothesized that stressors associated with primary treatment alternatives, variability in appraisal of the stressful nature of breast cancer treatments, conceptualized as symptom distress, and the presence of interpersonal resources within the social environment, conceptualized as perceived social support, would account for a significant proportion of the variance in psychosocial adjustment to breast cancer. Data were collected from 101 unmarried women (single, divorced/separated or widowed) during the late post-operative recovery phase through means of a mail survey. Participants completed a four-part questionnaire which included (a) The Psychosocial Adjustment to Breast Cancer Factor Score (Murphy, 1993) of the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS) (Derogatis, 1983); (b) The Symptom Distress Scale (SDS) (McCorkle & Young, 1978); (c) The Social Support Network Inventory (SSNI) (Flaherty, Gaviria, & Pathak, 1983); and (d) a Demographic Information Form. The unmarried women in this sample experienced relatively low levels of psychosocial adjustment problems during the late post operative recovery phase and perceived moderately high levels of social support. Regression analysis and commonality procedures indicated that social support and symptom distress each accounted for significant proportions of the variance in psychosocial adjustment, whereas primary treatment alternatives did not. Symptom distress emerged as the variable accounting for the most variance in psychosocial adjustment to breast cancer. The unmarried women in this sample most frequently named friends as important members of their support network, followed by sisters, mothers, and daughters. The highest levels of perceived support were from boyfriends, sisters and daughters. Implications for health care providers to facilitate positive adjustment to breast cancer in unmarried women and directions for future studies are suggested.

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