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The association between partner support and psychological distress among prostate cancer survivors in a nationwide study

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Abstract

Purpose

Up to 38 % of prostate cancer survivors experience significant psychological distress; 6–16 % are diagnosed with depression or anxiety disorders. Support from a relationship partner can ameliorate psychological distress, but many studies treat relationship status as a dichotomous predictor without accounting for level of support provided by the partner.

Methods

The current study is a secondary analysis of a sample of 292 prostate cancer survivors recruited by nine Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP) sites around the USA to a larger randomized controlled trial. Self-reported distress was measured at a baseline visit using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and partner support was measured using the Social Network and Support Assessment (SNSA). Post hoc groups consisting of unmarried survivors, married survivors with low partner support (SNSA scores below the median), and married survivors with high partner support (SNSA scores above the median) were compared on distress using univariate and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) analyses.

Results

Married prostate cancer survivors with high partner support reported significantly lower levels of psychological distress than the other two groups on the total distress scale (16.20–19.19 points lower, p < 0.001). After adjusting for multiple comparisons, this pattern was also seen for subscales of distress.

Conclusions

This study highlights the importance of assessing both partner support and marital status when evaluating a survivor’s psychosocial functioning and support network.

Implications for Cancer Survivors

Assessing support could improve understanding of the association between partner support and prostate cancer survivors’ psychological distress and could lead to interventions to bolster support and reduce distress.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by grant U10 CA37420 (PI: Morrow).

Conflict of interest

Drs. Kamen, Mustian, Heckler, Janelsins, Peppone, Mohile, McMahon, Lord, Flynn, Weiss, Spiegel, and Morrow declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. James P. Wilmot Cancer Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, 265 Crittenden Boulevard, Box 420658, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA

    Charles Kamen, Karen M. Mustian, Charles Heckler, Michelle C. Janelsins, Luke J. Peppone, Supriya Mohile & Gary R. Morrow

  2. University of Rochester School of Nursing, Helen Wood Hall, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA

    James M. McMahon

  3. Cancer Research Consortium of West Michigan NCORP, West Michigan Cancer Center, 200 North Park St, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007, USA

    Raymond Lord

  4. Metro Minnesota NCORP, 3800 Park Nicollet Boulevard, St. Louis Park, MN, 55416, USA

    Patrick J. Flynn

  5. Wisconsin NCORP, 1000 North Oak Avenue, Marshfield, WI, 54449, USA

    Matthias Weiss

  6. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, 94305-5718, USA

    David Spiegel

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  1. Charles Kamen
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  2. Karen M. Mustian
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  3. Charles Heckler
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  4. Michelle C. Janelsins
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  7. James M. McMahon
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  8. Raymond Lord
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  9. Patrick J. Flynn
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  10. Matthias Weiss
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  11. David Spiegel
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  12. Gary R. Morrow
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Correspondence to Charles Kamen.

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Kamen, C., Mustian, K.M., Heckler, C. et al. The association between partner support and psychological distress among prostate cancer survivors in a nationwide study. J Cancer Surviv 9, 492–499 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-015-0425-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-015-0425-3

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