Partner‐assisted emotional disclosure for patients with gastrointestinal cancer

Laura S. Porter · Francis J. Keefe · Donald H. Baucom · Herbert I. Hurwitz · Barry Kurt Moser · Emily S. Patterson

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Attachment and Relationship Dynamics Cancer survivorship and care Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare

Abstract

BACKGROUND: For patients with cancer who are married or in an intimate relationship, their relationships with their partners play a critical role in their adaptation to illness. However, cancer patients and their partners often have difficulty in talking with each other about their cancer-related concerns. Difficulties in communication ultimately may compromise both the patient-partner relationship and the patient's psychological adjustment. The current study tested the efficacy of a novel partner-assisted emotional disclosure intervention in a sample of patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancer. METHODS: One hundred thirty patients with GI cancer and their partners were assigned randomly to receive 4 sessions of either partner-assisted emotional disclosure or a couples cancer education/support intervention. Patients and partners completed measures of relationship quality, intimacy with their partner, and psychological distress before randomization and at the end of the intervention sessions. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling. RESULTS: Compared with an education/support condition, the partner-assisted emotional disclosure condition led to improvements in relationship quality and intimacy for couples in which the patient initially reported higher levels of holding back from discussing cancer-related concerns. CONCLUSIONS: Partner-assisted emotional disclosure is a novel intervention that builds on both the private emotional disclosure and the cognitive-behavioral marital literature. The results of this study suggested that this intervention may be beneficial for couples in which the patient tends to hold back from discussing concerns. The authors concluded that future research on methods of enhancing the effects of partner-assisted emotional disclosure is warranted.

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References

1997Writing About Emotional Experiences as a Therapeutic Process 1983Measuring Marital Quality: A Critical Look at the Dependent Variable 1999Forming a story: The health benefits of narrative 1998Written emotional expression: Effect sizes, outcome types, and moderating variables.1992Sex differences in self-disclosure: A meta-analysis.1987Measures for Clinical Practice: A Sourcebook 1998Empirically supported couple and family interventions for marital distress and adult mental health problems.2002Enhanced cognitive-behavioral therapy for couples: A contextual approach.

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