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Stress, coping, and health in spouses of cancer patients

Hunt, Chantal K.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1080318948

Abstract Details

2004, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Nursing.
Many studies document the negative effects associated with providing care for an ill relative. The overall purpose of this research was to increase the understanding of factors affecting health in young caregivers of cancer patients. The specific aims were to: identify competing conceptualizations of the effects of caregiving, to present a multidimensional framework with which to examine the caregiver experience from a biopsychosocial perspective, and to test the feasibility of a methodology for studying relationships among variables related to stress and health outcomes in spouses of patients with cancer. Literature was reviewed to form the basis of a concept analysis and theory construction. These were used as the basis for the design of the pilot study. The framework for this study combines aspects of the Transactional Stress Model with Psychoneuroimmunology. A descriptive, cross-sectional design was used. The convenience sample consisted of spouses of cancer patients diagnosed within the previous 12 months. The couples were all parents with at least one dependent child. Measures included self-report and physiological measures of stress, health, and immune function. Physiologic stress was measured by salivary cortisol assay, and immune function by salivary secretory IgA. Correlational analyses were used to examine relationships among variables. The sample included 13 subjects, and was 61.5% female Results revealed a mean morning cortisol level of 0.9036 ug/dL (SD= .1825 ug/dL), and mean sIgA level of 299.97 ug/ml (SD= 320.66 ug/ml). Potential problems with including salivary assays in research are discussed. Women had lower general health scores than men. Individuals with larger family incomes reported better general health, had higher sIgA and cortisol levels. Lower income individuals reported higher perceived stress, and high perceived stress was associated with lower general health scores. Occupational status was a strong predictor of the physiologic stress and immune responses in this sample, with fewer working hours being associated with higher cortisol and higher sIgA. Positive caregiver esteem was associated with lower cortisol levels. Notwithstanding the small sample size, the number and magnitude of the correlations found between the variables suggest that the proposed model has promise for guiding future work in this area.
Carol Kennedy (Advisor)
143 p.
Caregivers; Cancer caregivers; Stress and coping; Saliva cortisol; Salivary secretory Immunoglobulin A

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hunt, C. K. (2004). Stress, coping, and health in spouses of cancer patients [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1080318948

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hunt, Chantal. Stress, coping, and health in spouses of cancer patients. 2004. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1080318948.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hunt, Chantal. "Stress, coping, and health in spouses of cancer patients." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1080318948

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1080318948
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.