Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar 23:13:869905.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.869905. eCollection 2022.

Dyadic Profiles of Couples Coping With Body Image Concerns After Breast Cancer: Preliminary Results of a Cluster Analysis

Emanuela Saita  1 , Giulia Ferraris  2 , Chiara Acquati  3   4   5 , Sara Molgora  1 , Antonia Sorge  1 , Francesco Valenti  6 , Massimo Maria Grassi  6 , Denise Vagnini  1
Affiliations

Dyadic Profiles of Couples Coping With Body Image Concerns After Breast Cancer: Preliminary Results of a Cluster Analysis

Emanuela Saita et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Breast cancer treatments have multiple adverse effects, including concerns about body appearance and function that are experienced by most patients. Altered body image negatively affects mental health, social, and relationship functioning. While the relationship with a partner is critical for patients' psychological wellbeing and partners can promote positive body image, limited research has investigated individual and relational factors affecting the experience of both. This cross-sectional study aimed at (1) exploring rates of body image concerns among breast cancer patients, and (2) identifying dyadic profiles among participating dyads. Couples composed by patients who had undergone surgery and their romantic partners (n = 32) were recruited from the Breast Unit of a hospital in northern Italy. Both partners completed measures of personality characteristics (BFQ-2), psychological distress (HADS), coping flexibility (PACT), dyadic coping (DCQ), and closeness (IOS). Body image (BIS) and adjustment to cancer (Mini-MAC) measures were completed by patients only. K-mean cluster analyses identified 2-cluster solution among patients and partners, respectively. "Active patients" (cluster-1) reported low rates of body image concerns (p < 0.001), anxious preoccupation, negative dyadic coping, and self-oriented stress communication (p < 0.05), compared to "worried patients" (cluster-2). "Comfortable partners" (cluster-1) reported lower anxiety and depression (p < 0.001), self-oriented negative dyadic coping and closeness (p < 0.05) than "uncomfortable partners" (cluster-2). Three different dyadic profiles emerged: functional, dysfunctional, and ambivalent. Significant variations (p < 0.05) by anxiety, depression, and delegating dyadic coping existed. Results indicate there are groups of couples at greater risk for impaired psychological distress and body image concerns, which should be addressed in the context of dyadic psychosocial interventions.

Keywords: body image; breast cancer; couples; emotional wellbeing; relationship functioning.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

References

    1. Acquati C., Kayser K. (2019). Dyadic Coping Across the Lifespan: A Comparison Between Younger and Middle-Aged Couples With Breast Cancer. Front. Psychol. 10:404. 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00404 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aron A., Aron E. N., Smollan D. (1992). Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale and the structure of interpersonal closeness. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 63 596–612. 10.1037/0022-3514.63.4.596 - DOI
    1. Azlan H. A., Overton P. G., Simpson J., Powell P. A. (2017). Effect of Partners’ Disgust Responses on Psychological Wellbeing in Cancer Patients. J. Clin. Psychol. Med. Settings 24 355–364. 10.1007/s10880-017-9521-z - DOI - PubMed
    1. Begovic-Juhant A., Chmielewski A., Iwuagwu S., Chapman L. A. (2012). Impact of Body Image on Depression and Quality of Life Among Women with Breast Cancer. J. Psychosoc. Oncol. 30 446–460. 10.1080/07347332.2012.684856 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bodenmann G. (1995). A systemic-transactional conceptualization of stress and coping incouples. Swiss J. Psychol. 54 34–49.