The project proposed for this award examines support-related interactions between cancer patients an their partners. Two studies are proposed. The first study will address three issues. First, the study will identify interactional patterns from observations of interactions between patient and spouse, and determine the relationships between these patterns and patient adjustment. Second, the study will investigate whether a match between psychological characteristics and attitudes of partners in support-related interactions predicts the psychological adjustment of the recipient. Third, the direct and indirect effects of support upon psychological distress will be examined using a longitudinal design. Patients with either breast or colorectal cancer and their healthy partners will participate in the study. The second study will use the results from the first study to develop and implement a couple-focused intervention to improve patient adjustment and support satisfaction.
