Experiencing an intimate partner's breast cancer: attachment, caregiving, and burden in men

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2016

Authors

Marisa Ávila (Author) FPCEUP; Tânia Brandão (Author) FPCEUP; Joaquim Luís Coimbra (Author) FPCEUP; Frederick Lopez (Author) Other; Paula Mena Matos (Author) FPCEUP

Journal

Title: Psychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes

Vol. 79 No. 3

Pages: 236-248

ISSN: 0033-2747

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 2 Citations

ISI Web of Science

Scopus - 7 Citations

Scientific classification

CORDIS: Social sciences > Psychological sciences

FOS: Social sciences > Psychology

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00M-87G

DOI: 10.1080/00332747.2016.1158003

Abstract (EN): This study examined interrelationships among adult attachment orientations, caregiving, and caregiver burden in men of female partners with breast cancer, and tested whether caregiving patterns mediated associations between men’s attachment orientations and their self-reported caregiver burden. Method: The participants were 124 male partners of women with breast cancer. These participants completed assessments related to attachment, caregiving, and caregiver burden. Path models examined the associations between constructs and tested mediational effects. Results: Findings demonstrated significant associations between men’s adult attachment orientations and their experience of caregiver burden. In addition, the maintenance of proximity in caregiving completely mediated the respective associations of attachment security and attachment avoidance to caregiver health problems, on one hand, and to the caregiver’s self-esteem (e.g., another indicator for caregiver burden), on the other. Moreover, we found a direct effect of attachment avoidance on health problems. Conclusions: This study highlighted the importance of addressing adult attachment dispositions and caregiving to understanding the relational processes implicated in caregiver burden. The results support the conclusion that men’s adult attachment orientations and caregiving patterns toward their female partners with breast cancer are relevant contributors to men’s perceptions of caregiver burden.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific