Course of Distress in Breast Cancer Patients, Their Partners, and Matched Control Couples

Previous studies offer a limited perspective on the dynamic course of distress in cancer patients and their partners, owing to a restricted number of assessment points and the absence of comparison controls drawn from the general population. This study investigated the course of distress among breast cancer patients and their partners (N=92 couples) in comparison to matched control couples (N=64). Furthermore, the influence of neuroticism on distress was investigated. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was administered nine times over a 12-month period, and neuroticism was assessed at the beginning of the study using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Multilevel analyses revealed that patients were more distressed during the first 15 months after diagnosis than nonpatients. A significant portion of the distress that could not be explained by the cancer experience was explained by neuroticism. Differences in distress between patients and comparison-control women are relatively small and decreased over time, while distress in male partners was not elevated in comparison to their controls.