ASPO Abstracts
Longitudinal Dyadic Interdependence in Psychological Distress Among Latinas With Breast Cancer and Their Informal Caregivers
Category: Behavioral Science & Health Communication
Conference Year: 2020
Abstract Body:
Purpose: Cancer diagnosis and treatment can generate substantial distress for both
survivors and their informal caregivers, defined as family members or friends who provide
care and assistance to the cancer survivor. The primary aim of this investigation is to
test a model of dyadic interdependence in distress experienced by Latina breast cancer
survivors and their informal caregivers to determine if each influences the other.
Methods: To test this prediction, 209 Latinas with breast cancer and their informal
caregivers (dyads) were followed for 4 waves of assessment over the course of 6 months.
Both psychological (depression, anxiety, perceived stress) and physical (number of
symptoms, symptom distress) indicators of distress were assessed. Longitudinal analyses
of dyadic data were performed in accordance with the actor-partner interdependence model
using linear mixed effects modeling.
Results: Findings indicated that psychological distress was interdependent between cancer
survivors and their informal caregivers over the 6 months of observation. Caregivers
experienced greater depression, anxiety, and stress to the extent that the survivors
reported such distress, and vice versa. These effects held, even when controlling for
nature of the survivor-caregiver relationship (married to each other or not), education,
and the dyads' baseline similarity on distress. However, there was no such evidence of
interdependence on indicators of physical distress.
Conclusions: These findings are consistent with emotional contagion processes by which
psychological distress is transmitted over time between cancer survivors and their
informal caregivers. Latina cancer survivors are a particularly vulnerable population due
to health disparities, linguistic barriers, and socioeconomic challenges. Management of
psychological distress is of particular concern in this population. These findings point
to the potential importance of caregiver well-being for the welfare of Latina breast
cancer survivors.
Keywords: breast cancer, caregivers, psychological distress