Psychosocial adjustment of the family to breast cancer: a longitudinal analysis.

The purpose of the current study was to assess the impact of the mother's breast cancer on her family during rehabilitation and to determine the processes families use to adjust to the illness over time. Data were obtained from 111 child-rearing mothers with breast cancer on three occasions at four-month intervals using standardized measures of psychosocial adjustment. Results revealed that over time the families experienced significantly lower levels of illness-related demands and the marriages became better adjusted. Levels of depressive mood in the women, however, remained stable. This negative mood negatively affected the quality of the marriage, which, in turn, caused the family to cope less frequently with its problems and to function less well. Results strongly suggest the importance of formally assessing the woman's level of depressed mood and channeling women with stable depressive mood and their families into more intensive support services than those typically provided. Evidence from the current study is that, when not attended to, this depressive mood has sustained, deleterious effects on how well the family does during rehabilitation.