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Longitudinal dyadic interdependence in psychological distress among Latinas with breast cancer and their caregivers

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Abstract

Purpose

Cancer diagnosis and treatment can generate substantial distress for both survivors and their family caregivers. The primary aim of this investigation is to test a model of dyadic interdependence in distress experienced by cancer survivors and their caregivers to determine if each influences the other.

Methods

To test this prediction, 209 Latinas with breast cancer and their family 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.

Results

Findings indicated that psychological distress was interdependent between cancer survivors and their caregivers over the 6 months of observation. However, there was no such evidence of interdependence on indicators of physical distress.

Conclusions

These findings are consistent with emotional contagion processes and point to the potential importance of caregiver well-being for the welfare of Latina breast cancer survivors.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the research staff: Maria Figueroa, Karina Othon-Tapia, Xochitl Gaxiola, Mary Pentland, and Molly Hadeed, the community providers who referred survivors to the study, and the study participants.

Funding

This research was supported by a grant no. RSG-12-120-01-CPPB from the American Cancer Society to Terry Badger.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    Chris Segrin

  2. College of Nursing, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA

    Terry A. Badger & Alice Pasvogel

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA

    Alla Sikorskii & Karen Weihs

  4. Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, USA

    Ana Maria Lopez

  5. University of Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson, USA

    Pavani Chalasani

Authors
  1. Chris Segrin
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  2. Terry A. Badger
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  4. Alice Pasvogel
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  5. Karen Weihs
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  6. Ana Maria Lopez
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  7. Pavani Chalasani
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chris Segrin.

Ethics declarations

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee ( University of Arizona Institutional Review Board ) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Conflict of interest

Terry Badger, Chris Segrin, and Alla Sikorskii received grant funding from the American Cancer Society pursuant to the research reported in this manuscript. They have control of all primary data and agree to allow the journal to review the data if requested.

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Segrin, C., Badger, T.A., Sikorskii, A. et al. Longitudinal dyadic interdependence in psychological distress among Latinas with breast cancer and their caregivers. Support Care Cancer 28, 2735–2743 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-05121-4

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