Women with breast cancer: perception of family functioning and adjustment to illness

Fifty-seven women with breast cancer completed measures of family adaptability and cohesion, marital adjustment, and psychosocial adjustment to illness. Using a circumplex model of family systems, we examined whether subjects who perceived their families at moderate levels of cohesion and adaptabili...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPsychosomatic medicine Vol. 50; no. 5; p. 529
Main Authors Friedman, L C, Baer, P E, Nelson, D V, Lane, M, Smith, F E, Dworkin, R J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.09.1988
Subjects
Adaptation, Psychological
Adult
Aged
Breast Neoplasms - pathology
Breast Neoplasms - psychology
Family
Female
Humans
Marriage
Middle Aged
Neoplasm Staging
Personal Satisfaction
Psychological Tests
Psychometrics
Sick Role
Social Support
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Summary:Fifty-seven women with breast cancer completed measures of family adaptability and cohesion, marital adjustment, and psychosocial adjustment to illness. Using a circumplex model of family systems, we examined whether subjects who perceived their families at moderate levels of cohesion and adaptability reported better psychosocial adjustment than subjects from families with extreme levels of cohesion and adaptability. The results indicated that the patients who reported the best adjustment to breast cancer and in their marriages, also reported the highest levels of family cohesion. There was not a significant relationship between adjustment to illness and adaptability. The implications for the treatment of women with breast cancer and for the families of these patients were discussed.
ISSN:0033-3174
DOI:10.1097/00006842-198809000-00009