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Correlates of social support in young adults with advanced cancer

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Abstract

Objective

This study examined the relationship between perceived social support, quality of life (QoL), and grief in young adults with advanced cancer.

Methods

Seventy-one young adults (20–40 years) with advanced cancer were administered measures of social support, QoL, and grief. Regression analyses examined the relationship between social support and QoL and grief.

Results

Higher levels of total social support were associated with better psychological and existential QoL and less severe grief. Availability of someone to talk to about problems was also associated with better psychological and existential QoL and less severe grief. Tangible support was associated with better psychological and existential QoL. Availability of someone to engage in activities with was only associated with better existential QoL.

Conclusions

These results suggest that enhancing social support may improve psychological well-being in this population. In addition, specific types of social support may be particularly relevant to the psychological well-being of young adults with advanced cancer.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by the following grants to Dr. Prigerson: MH63892 from the National Institute of Mental Health and CA106370 and CA156732 from the National Cancer Institute; the Adolescent and Young Adults with Cancer Closing the Gap Fund; and the Center for Psycho-Oncology and Palliative Care Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Conflicts of interest

The authors do not have any conflicts of interest to disclose regarding this manuscript, including financial relationships with the organizations that supported this work. The authors have full control of all primary data and agree to allow the journal to review this data, if requested.

Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dana Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Avenue, Dana 1134, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    K. M. Trevino, K. Fasciano, S. Block & H. G. Prigerson

  2. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    K. M. Trevino, K. Fasciano, S. Block & H. G. Prigerson

  3. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    K. M. Trevino, K. Fasciano, S. Block & H. G. Prigerson

Authors
  1. K. M. Trevino
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  2. K. Fasciano
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  3. S. Block
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  4. H. G. Prigerson
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Correspondence to H. G. Prigerson.

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Trevino, K.M., Fasciano, K., Block, S. et al. Correlates of social support in young adults with advanced cancer. Support Care Cancer 21, 421–429 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-012-1536-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-012-1536-2

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