Parenting concerns, psychological distress, and relationship functioning in parents coping with cancer
Date
2019-04-22
Author
Advisors
Keefe, Francis
Porter, Laura
Van Denburg, Alyssa
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Abstract
Introduction: Studies have found that cancer patients with dependent children exhibit
high symptoms of anxiety, depression, and worry. Patients’ parenting concerns can
negatively impact their own and their family’s adjustment to the cancer experience.
Little is known about parenting concerns of partners of cancer patients, or associations
between parenting concerns and couples’ relationship functioning. This study investigated
parenting concerns in both patients and partners, and their associations with psychological
and relationship functioning.
Methods: Patients with stage II-IV cancer (n=38; 74% female) and their partners (n=34;
26% female) completed questionnaires assessing parenting concerns, depression, couple
cancer-related communication, and relationship satisfaction. Correlations and paired
t-tests were used to examine associations between patient and partner parenting concerns.
Multilevel modeling for dyadic (paired) data was used to examine associations between
parenting concerns, psychological distress, communication, and relationship functioning
for patients and partners.
Results: Results indicated patient and partner parenting concerns were significantly
correlated (r = .65, p < .0001). There were no significant differences in the levels
of parenting concerns between patients and partners (p = .78). For both patients and
partners, higher parenting concerns were associated with significantly poorer cancer-related
communication (B = .55, SE = .16, p = .001) and higher depression (approaching significance;
B = 1.89, SE = .99, p = .06). Parenting concerns were not significantly associated
with relationship satisfaction (p < .05).
Conclusions/Implications: These findings suggest patients and partners have similar
levels of parenting concerns and that parenting concerns are associated with higher
levels of depression and poorer communication. This indicates the need for additional
psychological support and mutual spousal support for couples raising children while
navigating the cancer experience.
Type
Honors thesisDepartment
Psychology and NeuroscienceSubject
parenting concernscouples coping with cancer
parents with cancer
dyadic adjustment
relationship functioning
cancer and distress
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/18374Citation
McDaniel, Hannah (2019). Parenting concerns, psychological distress, and relationship functioning in parents
coping with cancer. Honors thesis, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/18374.Collections
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