The primary mission of the Psychosocial Assessment Core is to generate a comprehensive set of information about the psychosocial and behavioral changes that occur as a result of a Cognitive Behavioral Stress Management (CBSM) intervention. This intervention is designed to reduce mood disturbance and to enhance quality of life in persons previously treated for breast or prostate cancer or currently experiencing cervical cellular atypia. Because the proposed project will test the efficacy of CBSM in populations varying in ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status, it is critical to strike a balance between (a) having a standardized set of instruments and conditions under which testing would take place, and (b) tailoring the assessment format to be most appropriate for the populations being tested. We have attempted to achieve this balance by generating a core assessment battery of tests that participants in all projects will complete, embellishing this central core with measures that are specific to certain projects, and varying the format in which testing takes place as needed. This Core is also responsible for conducting phone screens to rule out persons who do not meet eligibility criteria, for scheduling screening visits for prospective recruits, for conducting face- to-face screening interviews, for coordinating distribution and return of urine containers for biological assessment, and for coordinating compensation. These activities, along with the focal activity of administering questions at each time point for Projects 1-4, will be carried out while ensuring participants' comfort and minimizing participant burden. The administration of the psychosocial assessment measures by a central Core is reasonable given the (a) all of these procedures will be utilized in the project, and (b) administration of measures by Core B assignment personnel would provide the constancy of assessment conditions and blinding of participants' group assignment that are needed in order to conduct unbiased program-wide comparisons. The Psychosocial Assessment Core personnel will work with the Recruitment Specialist (Core A) to assure the appropriate placement of specific participants into the different projects and with the Retention Specialist (Core A) to ensure completion of assessments at each time point for all of the projects.
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